Solid waste management in India - Archivestud.epsilon.slu.se/1760/1/axelsson_c_kvarnstrom_t_100906.pdfInge Johansson, Technical Adviser for waste-to-energy, Avfall Sverige, for your

Examensarbete Civilingenjörsprogrammet i energisystem

Energy from municipal solid waste in Chennai, India – a feasibility study Camilla Axelsson and Theres Kvarnström

SLU, Institutionen för energi och teknik Examensarbete 2010:05 Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences ISSN 1654-9392 Department of Energy and Technology Uppsala 2010

SLU, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences Department of Energy and Technology Camilla Axelsson and Theres Kvarnström Energy from municipal solid waste in Chennai, India – a feasibility study Supervisor: Ronny Arnberg, Borlänge energi Assistant examiner: Per-Anders Hansson, Department of energy and technology, SLU Examiner: Bengt Hillring, Department of energy and technology, SLU EX0269, Degree project, 30 credits, Technology, Advanced E Master Programme in Energy Systems Engineering (Civilingenjörsprogrammet i energisystem) Examensarbete (Institutionen för energi och teknik, SLU) ISSN 1654-9392 2010:05 Uppsala 2010 Keywords: MSW, energy, Chennai, India, RDF, waste, plant

Abstract Solid waste management is one of the most essential functions in a country to achieve a

sustainable development. In India, it has been one of the least prioritized functions during the

last decades. The most common ways to treat waste in India today are open dumping and

uncontrolled burning. These methods are causing severe environmental pollution and health

problems. India is one of the world’s largest emitter of methane gas from waste disposal.

Since methane is a strong greenhouse gas, even small emissions have large impact on the

climate. Improper treatment of waste will also affect peoples’ health, first of all by the

spreading of toxic compounds from uncontrolled burning and secondly by leakage of sewage

from the dumping grounds into the groundwater.

When waste is incinerated in an incineration plant there are many environmental benefits.

First of all, the possibility of using flue gas treatment prevents emissions of toxic compounds

to emit to the air compared to if waste is burnt uncontrolled. Secondly, the amount of waste

going to the dumpsite will decrease, resulting in a reduction of methane formation and less

leakage of sewage from the dumpsite to the groundwater.

Chennai is the fourth largest city in India with a population of 4.3 million (2001 census). It is

the Corporation of Chennai, CoC, which has the overall responsibility for solid waste

management in the city. With street sweepers, tricycles and compactors they collect and

transport the waste to one of the two dumpsites in the city; Perungudi in the north or

Kodungaiyur in the south. Like most municipalities in India, CoC has experienced difficulties

keeping in pace with last decades’ industrialization, resulting in insufficient collection of

municipal solid waste and over burdened dumpsites. Another consequence of the rapid

industrialization is the increased demand for electricity. Today there is not enough installed

capacity of power stations in Chennai to meet this demand, leading to daily power cuts.

If the waste on the two dumpsites will be left untreated, the dumpsites are only expected to be

useful until the year 2015. To prolong the lifespan of the dumpsites CoC has signed a contract

with the company Hydroair Tectonics, who shall minimize the waste on Perungudi. There is a

chance that there will be a similar contract on Kodungaiyur as well. This company will build a

processing plant that will segregate the waste into recyclable, inert, organic and burnable

material. The inert and organic waste will be processed further into bricks and compost,

which will be sold on the open market. The burnable material will be processed into a fluffy

fraction called RDF-fluff. In the initial stage the RDF-fluff will be sold to coal-fired industries

as “green coal”. In the future Hydroair Tectonics plans to build a combustion unit for burning

RDF and generate electricity, which will be sold to the grid.

This report will give an overview of the current waste and electricity situation in Chennai and

analyze whether Hydroair Tectonics should build this combustion unit or if they should sell

the generated RDF to industries. The result will be presented in a case study.

Populärvetenskaplig sammanfattning Ett fungerande avfallshanteringssystem i världens länder är väsentligt för att åstadkomma en

global hållbar utveckling. Indien har, liksom många andra utvecklingsländer, stora brister i sitt

avfallshanteringssystem. De vanligaste metoderna att hantera avfallet i landet idag är

okontrollerad deponering och öppen förbränning, vilka är de värsta metoderna när det gäller

miljö- och hälsoeffekter. Indien är en av världens största utsläppare av metan från

avfallsdeponering. Eftersom metan är en stark växthusgas ger även mindre utsläpp betydande

påverkan på klimatet. Ett fungerande avfallshanteringssystem är dessutom viktigt för att

förhindra sjukdomsspridning. Varje år dör tusentals människor i Indien av sjukdomar

orsakade av bristfällig renhållning.

Den senaste tidens urbanisering och ekonomiska utveckling som har präglat landet har

resulterat i en lavinartad ökning av mängden hushållsavfall. Samtidigt har behovet av

elektricitet ökat som en ytterligare konsekvens av detta. Idag har Indien stora problem med att

tillgodose behovet av el i landet, vilket leder till dagliga elavbrott. Regeringen i Indien har

under de senaste åren insett vilket omfattande problem de står inför och har mer aktivt börjat

arbeta för att förbättra el- och avfallssituationen. Genom att införa striktare regler för

avfallshantering och samtidigt förbättra investeringsklimatet för elproduktion från

förnyelsebara energikällor hoppas de komma tillrätta med de båda problemen. Vad många

politiker förespråkar är energiproduktion från avfall; en lösning som både minskar mängden

sopor till dumparna och samtidigt genererar elektricitet .

Borlänge Energi har under lång tid varit engagerad i avfallsprojekt i utvecklingsländer. Deras

engagemang i Indien började med ett samarbete med organisationen Hand in Hand som är en

Non-governmental Organization, NGO, i Chennai. Detta examensarbete är skrivet på uppdrag

av Borlänge Energi och har finansierats genom ett Minor Field Study, MFS, - stipendium från

Sida. Syftet med arbetet är att göra en förstudie om möjligheten att bygga en

avfallsförbränningsanläggning med energiutvinning i Chennai.

Situationen i Chennai idag Chennai är Indiens fjärde största stad med 4,3 miljoner invånare (2001 census). Idag är det

kommunen i Chennai, CoC, som har det övergripande ansvaret för stadens avfallshantering.

Staden är uppdelad i 10 administrativa zoner. För att effektivisera avfallshanteringen har CoC

outsourcat avfallshanteringen i 4 av de 10 zonerna till det privatägda företaget Neel Metal

Fanalca. Metoden för uppsamling och transport av avfallet är dock densamma. Med hjälp av

gatusopare, trehjulingar och tyngre lastbilar samlas avfallet ihop och transporteras sedan till

en av stadens två dumpar, Kadungaiyur i norr eller Perungudi i söder. Dessa dumpar är

okontrollerade, vilket innebär att de varken har någon uppsamling av lakvatten eller utvinning

av deponigas. Varje dag transporteras cirka 1 500 ton avfall till vardera av dumparna. Om

denna avfallsmängd inte minskar de närmsta åren beräknas dumparnas livslängd sträcka sig

till år 2015. Uppsamlingen av avfall i Chennai sker med en effektivitet av 73 procent. Det

avfall som inte samlas upp förbränns under okontrollerade former längs vägar och i gränder.

Hushållsavfallet i Chennai består till största delen av organiskt avfall och inert material, som

grus och sand. Det lägre värmevärdet ligger på 1,6 MWh/ton.

Vardagen i Chennai präglas av strömavbrott som ibland varar i flera timmar. I januari år 2009

kunde 7,5 procent av elbehovet i staden inte tillgodoses. Idag sker ingen utvinning av energi

från avfall i Chennai.

Situationen i Chennai i framtiden I takt med att dumparna i Chennai börjar bli överfyllda med sopor har kommunen i Chennai

arbetat för att hitta en lösning som minimerar mängden sopor på dumparna och därmed

förlänger deras livstid. Nyligen skrev de kontrakt med ett företag från Mumbai, Hydroair

Tectonics, för att de ska ta hand om allt avfall som dumpas på Perungudi. Det kan tänkas bli

ett liknande kontrakt på Kadungaiyur i framtiden. Till en början kommer företaget att bygga

en sorteringsanläggning på dumpen som mekaniskt och manuellt separerar olika fraktioner av

avfallet. De olika fraktionerna bearbetas sedan vidare till användbara produkter. Av den

organiska och inerta fraktionen tillverkas kompost respektive tegelsten, som säljs på den

öppna marknaden. Återvinningsbart material separeras och säljs till återvinningsföretag. Den

brännbara fraktionen hackas sönder till en fluffig massa kallad RDF-fluff, som kan användas

som bränsle för energiproduktion. Till att börja med kommer Hydroair Tectonics att sälja

RDF-fluffet till koleldande industrier som ett substitut till kol. I ett senare skede funderar

företaget på att investera i en förbränningsanläggning för energiproduktion.

Fallstudie I detta examensarbete beskrivs de ekonomiska och tekniska förutsättningarna för att bygga en

anläggning för energiproduktion från förbränning av RDF-fluff. Resultatet presenteras i en

fallstudie som kommer kunna användas av Hydroair Tectonics för att bedöma om de ska

bygga en anläggning eller inte.

I fallstudien beskrivs en typanläggning för energiproduktion för förbränning av RDF. Två

scenarier för energiproduktion undersöks. I det ena fallet förbränns RDF för att generera el,

som säljs till nätet. I detta fall blir anläggningens elektriska effekt 10,5 MW. I det andra fallet

förbränns RDF-fluff tillsammans med industriavfall, för att generera el som säljs till nätet och

processånga som säljs till en närbelägen industri. I detta fall blir den elektriska effekten 12,2

MW och den termiska effekten 12,5 MW. Det senare fallet innebär högre lönsamhet, för det

första genom att fler produkter tas tillvara och för det andra för att inblandningen av

industriavfall ger bränslemixen ett högre energiinnehåll.

Beroende på vilken återbetalningstid Hydroair Tectonics accepterar, varierar den totala

anläggningskostnaden för att det ska vara mer lönsamt att bygga anläggningen än att sälja

RDF-fluffet till industrier. Resultatet blev följande:

Vid antagandet att Hydroair Tectonics väljer en återbetalningstid på 15 år bör företaget:

förbränna RDF i en anläggning för generering av el, om de totala

anläggningskostnaderna på 15 år inte överstiger 540 miljoner kr

förbränna RDF tillsammans med industriavfall i en anläggning för generering av el

och processånga, om de totala anläggningskostnaderna inte överstiger 910 miljoner kr

sälja RDF till industrier för 150 kr per ton om ovanstående fall inte gäller.

Acknowledgements This master’s thesis is the final part of our, Camilla Axelsson’s and Theres Kvarnström’s,

degree as Master of Science in engineering. The degree will be earned in Energy Systems at

the Swedish Agricultural University and Uppsala University. When Borlänge Energy asked us

to go to India to do a feasibility study about waste -to-energy we did not hesitate a moment to

go. The time in India was very worthwhile and we got invaluable experiences as well as

unforgettable memories.

There have been many people involved in our master’s thesis. We would like to take the

opportunity to express our gratitude to everyone who has provided us with valuable thoughts

and information along the way and thereby made this study possible. Thank you,

Borlänge Energy for giving us the opportunity to carry out this master’s thesis in India. We

would especially like to thank you, our supervisor Ronny Arnberg, for your strong

engagement and for assisting us with relevant contacts.

Inge Johansson, Technical Adviser for waste-to-energy, Avfall Sverige, for your engagement

and interest and for always giving us quick and extensive responses on our e-mails.

Jörgen Carlsson, Developing Engineer, Umeå Energy, for giving us useful information about

the waste incineration technique.

Kjell Pernestål, Senior teacher at the department of physics and material, Uppsala University,

for taking your time and helping us with the technical part of the study.

Sida, through the Committee of Tropical Ecology at Uppsala University, for funding our trip

to India.

Hand in hand, for welcoming us to your office in Chennai and providing us with a desk.

Especially thank you, ER.N. Sekar, Superintending Engineer and K.S. Sudhakar, Project

Coordinator, for assisting us with valuable information about the waste situation in India and

McKay Savage, Field Officer and International Coordinator, for proofreading our master’s

thesis.

Hydroair Tectonics, for your great hospitality during our stay in Mumbai. Thank you for the

opportunity to see your waste processing plant in Ichalkaranji and for letting us work at your

office.

R.Balasubramanian, Secretary, TNERC, for your hospitality and for sharing your knowledge

of the electricity system in Tamil Nadu. Dhenuka Srinivasan, Senior Consultant, Ernst &

Young, for your kindness and help with CDM. S. Balaji, Additional Chief Environmental

Engineer, TNPCB, for your valuable information regarding pollution control.

At last we would like to thank everyone in India and Sweden who took of their time to share

their knowledge with us and for making our stay in India unforgettable. Thank you!

Uppsala, May 2009.

Camilla Axelsson & Theres Kvarnström

Nomenclature BFB Bubbling Fluidized Bed

BOOM Build, Own, Operate and Maintenance

CDM Clean Development Mechanism

CEA Central Electricity Authority

CER Certified Emission Reduction

CFB Circulating Fluidized Bed

CH4 Methane

CMDA Chennai Metropolitan Development Agency

CoC Corporation of Chennai

CO Carbon monoxide

CO2 Carbon dioxide

CO2 eq Carbon dioxide equivalent

CPCB Central Pollution Control Board

DNA Designated National Authority

DOE Designated Operational Entity

DST Department of Science and Technologies

EB Executive Board

ENTEC Environment Technology

EU European Union

HCl Hydrogen chloride

HF Hydrogen fluoride

HgCl Mercury chloride

HHV Higher Heating Value

H2O Water

IET International Emission Trading

IPCC International Panel on Climate Change

IREDA Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency

LHV Lower Heating Value

MFS Minor Field Study

MNRE Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

MoEF Ministry of Environment and Forest

MoU Memorandum of Understanding

MoUD Ministry of Urban Development

MSW Municipal Solid Waste

MSWM Municipal Solid Waste Management

NGO Non-Governmental Organisation

NEERI National Environmental Engineering Research Institute

NOx Nitrogen oxides

O2 Oxygen

PCB Polychlorinated biphenyls

PCDD Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins

PCDFs Polychlorinated dibenzofurans

PDD Project Development Document

PVC Polyvinyl chloride

RBI Reserve Bank of India

RDF Refuse Derived Fuel

RES Renewable Energy Sources

SCR Selective Catalytic Reduction

Sida Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

SLF Sanitary Landfill

SNCR Selective Non Catalytic Reduction

SIPCOT State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu

SOx Sulphur oxides

SWM Solid Waste Management

TDB Technology Development Board

TEDA Tamil Nadu Energy Development

TNEB Tamil Nadu Electricity Board

TNERC Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission

TNPCB Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board

TPD Tons Per Day

UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

VER Voluntary Emission Reduction

List of Contents 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 15

1.1 Background ..................................................................................................................... 15 1.2 Objective ......................................................................................................................... 16 1.3 Expected result of the study ............................................................................................ 17

1.3.1 For whom is this report written? ............................................................................... 17 1.4 Limitations ...................................................................................................................... 17 1.5 Methodology ................................................................................................................... 17

1.5.1 Description of the current and future waste and electricity situation in Chennai ..... 17 1.5.2 Setting up a waste-to energy plant ............................................................................ 18 1.5.3 The case for MSW incineration in Chennai ............................................................. 18 1.5.4 Exchange rate ........................................................................................................... 18

2 Solid waste management and electricity production in Chennai .......................................... 19 2.1 Background ..................................................................................................................... 19 2.2 Solid waste generation .................................................................................................... 20

2.2.1 Industrial Waste ........................................................................................................ 20 2.2.2 Agricultural Waste .................................................................................................... 20 2.2.3 Hazardous Waste ...................................................................................................... 21 2.2.4 Bio-Medical Waste ................................................................................................... 21 2.2.5 E-Waste .................................................................................................................... 22 2.2.6 Construction and Demolition Waste ......................................................................... 22 2.2.7 Municipal solid waste ............................................................................................... 22

2.3 Municipal solid waste management in Chennai ............................................................. 23 2.3.1 Governmental actors responsible for SWM ............................................................. 23 2.3.2 Local bodies responsible for SWM in Chennai ........................................................ 25 2.3.3 Collection and transportation of MSW ..................................................................... 26 2.3.4 Recycling .................................................................................................................. 29 2.3.5 MSW treatment ......................................................................................................... 30

2.4 Environmental and health impacts of MSW treatment ................................................... 32 2.4.1 Environmental and health impacts of open dumping ............................................... 32 2.4.2 Environmental and health impacts of uncontrolled burning .................................... 33

2.5 Characteristics of MSW in Chennai................................................................................ 35 2.5.1 The Composition of MSW in Chennai ..................................................................... 35 2.5.2 Chemical characteristics of MSW ............................................................................ 37 2.5.3 Heating value ............................................................................................................ 37 2.5.4 Future waste characteristics ...................................................................................... 39

2.6 Electricity production in Chennai ................................................................................... 40 2.6.1 The electricity situation in Chennai .......................................................................... 40 2.6.2 Installed capacity of power stations in Tamil Nadu ................................................. 41 2.6.3 Future electricity production .................................................................................... 41

2.7 The current situation for MSW-to-energy ...................................................................... 42 2.7.1 Combustion ............................................................................................................... 42 2.7.2 Pyrolysis and gasification ......................................................................................... 44 2.7.3 Sanitary landfill with energy recovery ..................................................................... 44 2.7.4 Anaerobic biomethanation ........................................................................................ 45 2.7.5 MSW to products ...................................................................................................... 46

3 Future MSW-to-energy in Chennai ....................................................................................... 49 3.1 Hydroair Tectonics .......................................................................................................... 49

3.1.1 The processing plant ................................................................................................. 49

3.1.2 MSW to products ...................................................................................................... 51 3.1.3 Sanitary landfill ........................................................................................................ 55 3.1.4 Leachate treatment .................................................................................................... 55

4 Setting up a waste-to-energy plant ........................................................................................ 57 4.1 Regulations ..................................................................................................................... 57

4.1.1 Emission standards ................................................................................................... 57 4.2 Funding for MSW-to-energy projects ............................................................................. 58

4.2.1 Support systems ........................................................................................................ 58 5 The case for MSW incineration in Chennai .......................................................................... 61

5.1 The case study ................................................................................................................. 61 5.1.1 Should there be mass burning of MSW or only combustion of the burnable fraction

of the MSW (the RDF)? .................................................................................................... 61 5.1.2 Who should process the waste and which methods should be used? ....................... 65 5.1.3 Where should the plant be situated? ......................................................................... 65 5.1.4 Should there be co-incineration with another fuel? In that case, which fuel is

suitable for co-incineration? .............................................................................................. 66 5.1.5 Which technology should be used for combustion and what type of flue gas

treatment should be used? .................................................................................................. 67 5.1.6 Which type of energy should be recovered? ............................................................ 70

5.2 Presentation of the case ................................................................................................... 71 5.2.1 Alternative case ........................................................................................................ 71 5.2.2 Problem formulation and system boundaries ........................................................... 72

5.3 Technical viability .......................................................................................................... 73 5.3.1 Specification of technology and parameters ............................................................. 73 5.3.2 Potential power generation ....................................................................................... 81

5.4 Financial viability ........................................................................................................... 87 5.4.1 Revenues ................................................................................................................... 87 5.4.2 Alternative cost ......................................................................................................... 89 5.4.3 Estimation of allowed plant cost .............................................................................. 89 5.4.4 Result ........................................................................................................................ 90

6 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................... 93 7 Conclusive discussion ........................................................................................................... 95

7.1 Method criticism ............................................................................................................. 95 7.2 Source of errors ............................................................................................................... 96 7.3 Suggestions of further studies ......................................................................................... 96

8 References ............................................................................................................................. 97 8.1 Written references ........................................................................................................... 97 8.2 Personal communication ............................................................................................... 103 8.3 Picture Sources .............................................................................................................. 104

List of figures

Figure 1 Map of India. .............................................................................................................. 19 Figure 2 The zones of Chennai. ............................................................................................... 19 Figure 3 The biomethanation plant in Koyembedu wholesale market complex, Chennai....... 21 Figure 4 Zone wise garbage removal in Chennai. .................................................................... 23 Figure 5 The Municipal Solid Waste (M&H) Rules, 2000. ..................................................... 24 Figure 6 Hierarchy of waste management. ............................................................................... 25 Figure 7 Neel Metal Fanalca's 4 zones. Modified from. .......................................................... 26 Figure 8 MSW collection scheme. ........................................................................................... 27 Figure 9 Bins used for segregation of waste. ........................................................................... 27 Figure 10 Indian street sweeper. .............................................................................................. 28 Figure 11 Transfer station. ....................................................................................................... 28 Figure 12 Tricycle collecting waste at door step (left) and compactor emptying a street bin

(right). ....................................................................................................................................... 29 Figure 13 Neel Metal Fanalca vehicle. ..................................................................................... 29 Figure 14 Perungudi dumpsite seen from outside. ................................................................... 31 Figure 15 Analysis of the composition of MSW in Chennai, made by the CoC (2003) and

NEERI (2006). ......................................................................................................................... 36 Figure 16 Analysis of the composition of organic matter in Chennai, made by the CoC 2003.

.................................................................................................................................................. 36 Figure 17 Analysis of the composition of the recyclable fraction in Chennai, made by NERRI

(2006). ...................................................................................................................................... 37 Figure 18 Installed capacity in Tamil Nadu, January 2009. ..................................................... 41 Figure 19 Estimated flowchart of the processing of waste at Perungudi dumpsite in Chennai.

.................................................................................................................................................. 50 Figure 20 Segregation unit for separation of the organic and inert components. .................... 51 Figure 21 Bioculture is sprayed on the windrows. ................................................................... 51 Figure 22 The compost ready to be sold to farmers. ................................................................ 52 Figure 23 The RDF processing machinery. ............................................................................. 53 Figure 24 Bailed RDF fluff. ..................................................................................................... 53 Figure 25 The mechanical processing of bricks. ...................................................................... 54 Figure 26 Bubling bluidized bed and circulating fluidized bed. .............................................. 69 Figure 27 The NID-system. ...................................................................................................... 70 Figure 28 The flow chart and the system boundaries of the case study. .................................. 72 Figure 29 Ecofluid bubbling fluidized bed with attaching parts. ............................................. 73 Figure 30 Alstom turbine. ........................................................................................................ 73 Figure 31 The Rankine cycle and T-s diagram. ....................................................................... 75 Figure 32 The dew point in Chennai through a year. ............................................................... 76 Figure 33 The steam process illustrated in a T-s diagram. ....................................................... 77 Figure 34 T-s diagram with two turbines. ................................................................................ 78 Figure 35 The steam cycle in scenario 2. ................................................................................. 79 Figure 36 Allowed plant costs for different payback times in million Rupees. ....................... 91

List of tables

Table 1 The exchange rate as on 31 July 2009......................................................................... 18 Table 2 Solid waste generation sources in Chennai. ................................................................ 20 Table 3 Market price for waste fractions. ................................................................................ 30 Table 4 Characteristics of Chennai´s two dumpsites. .............................................................. 31 Table 5 Description of how different emissions are created and their effect on the

environment and health. ........................................................................................................... 34 Table 6 Concentration of PCDD/Fs and PCBs in soil samples from Perungudi dumpsite and a

control site. ............................................................................................................................... 35 Table 7 Estimated intakes of PCDD/Fs for children and adults via soil ingestion and dermal

exposure. .................................................................................................................................. 35 Table 8 The chemical characteristics of the MSW in Chennai, based on analysis made by the

CoC (2003) and NEERI (2006). ............................................................................................... 37 Table 9 Tamil Nadu's power supply and peak demand in January 2009. ................................ 40 Table 10 Standard values of compost in India and specific values from the compost produced

in Ichalkaranji. .......................................................................................................................... 52 Table 11 Specific characteristics of RDF fluff. ........................................................................ 53 Table 12 The higher and lower heating value for RDF. ........................................................... 54 Table 13 Characteristics of RDF fluff and pellets. ................................................................... 54 Table 14 Standard for leachate treatment. ................................................................................ 55 Table 15 The emissions standards for waste incineration in India and Sweden. ..................... 58 Table 16 The average lower heating value of MSW and RDF in Chennai. ............................. 63 Table 17 The conditions for mass burning of MSW in Chennai compared to Sweden. .......... 64 Table 18 Characteristics of water in stage a in the Rankine cycle. .......................................... 76 Table 19 Characteristics of water in stage b in the Rankine cycle ........................................... 76 Table 20 Characteristics of saturated vapour in stage c in the Rankine cycle. ........................ 77 Table 21 Characteristics of the wet vapour in stage d in the Rankine cycle. ........................... 78 Table 22 Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals LTd's steam requirements. ........................... 79 Table 23 The two extra stages in the steam cycle. ................................................................... 79 Table 24 Boiler efficiency. ....................................................................................................... 81 Table 25 Fuel specifications for scenarios 1 and 2. ................................................................. 81 Table 26 Parameters in the Rankine cycle. .............................................................................. 81 Table 27 The estimated technical parameters. ......................................................................... 87 Table 28 Revenues from scenarios 1 and 2. ............................................................................. 87 Table 29 The potential revenues from CERs. .......................................................................... 89 Table 30 The known revenues and costs for the plant. ............................................................ 90 Table 31 Allowed plant costs for different payback times. ...................................................... 90

List of boxes

Box 1 Estimation of the heating value of MSW in Chennai .................................................... 39 Box 2 Mass burning plant in Timarpur, New Delhi ................................................................. 43 Box 3 RDF plants in Hyderabad and Vijayawada ................................................................... 44 Box 4 Biomethanation plant in Lucknow ................................................................................ 46 Box 5 Estimation of the price for land to build a waste-to-energy plant ................................. 59 Box 6 Strengths and weaknesses with mass burning of MSW ................................................ 62 Box 7 Moving grate and fluidized bed - Strength and weakness ............................................. 68 Box 8 Fluidized bed ................................................................................................................. 69 Box 9 The NID-system ............................................................................................................ 70 Box 10 The Rankine cycle ....................................................................................................... 75 Box 11 Calculations of the enthalpy after the turbine. ............................................................. 78 Box 12 Calculation of the enthalpy before the boiler in the presence of a preheater .............. 80 Box 13 The fuel power of the plant in scenario 1 .................................................................... 82 Box 14 The fuel power of the plant in scenario 2 .................................................................... 82 Box 15 The steam flow in scenarios 1 and 2 ............................................................................ 83 Box 16 Calculation of the electric efficiency in scenario 1 ..................................................... 83 Box 17 Calculations of the electric and thermal efficiencies in scenario 2 ............................. 84 Box 18 The potential electric power in scenario 1 ................................................................... 85 Box 19 The potential electric and thermal power in scenario 2 ............................................... 86 Box 20 The power that needs to be cooled in scenarios 1 and 2 .............................................. 86 Box 21 The revenues from selling electricity and process steam ............................................ 88

List of appendices

Appendix 1 The ownership of the power stations in India .................................................... 107

Appendix 2 Annual waste dumped in Chennai ...................................................................... 108

Appendix 3 Carbon content of MSW in Chennai .................................................................. 109

Appendix 4 The total methane emission in Chennai .............................................................. 110

Appendix 5 Calculations of the carbon dioxide emissions from open dumping in Chennai . 112

Appendix 6 Characteristics of the waste in Chennai analysed by the CoC and NEERI ........ 114

Appendix 7 Regulatory systems for setting up an incineration plant in India ....................... 115

Appendix 8 Example of suitable technology with price estimations ..................................... 116

Appendix 9 Clean Development Mechanism ......................................................................... 119

Appendix 10 Revenues from CDM in scenarios 1 and 2 ....................................................... 124

Appendix 11 MSW management in developed countries ...................................................... 129

Appendix 12 Technologies for treating MSW ....................................................................... 136

Appendix 13 Dioxins ............................................................................................................. 145

15

1 Introduction

Solid Waste Management (SWM) is one of the most essential functions of the local

authorities in India to achieve a sustainable development in the country. Nevertheless, it has

also been one of the least prioritized services during the last decades.

The largest part of the solid waste generated is Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), which is waste

generated from the households and commercial establishments. The rapid urbanization and

the economical development in India during the last years have resulted in an increase in

MSW generation. The local authorities have had problems keeping in pace with the growing

problems with MSW, resulting in overfilled dumpsites and uncontrolled burning. Since India

has 18 percent of the world’s population [4], but only 2 percent of the world’s total land area

[5], the problem becomes even more urgent.

When waste is not treated properly, the environmental and health impacts can be disastrous.

Today, India is one of the world’s largest methane emitters from solid waste disposal. Since

methane is an aggressive greenhouse gas, it will affect global warming on a large scale. A

functional SWM is also necessary to prevent the spreading of diseases and improve the

standard of living of people. Every year thousands of people die in India of water borne

diseases, caused by lack of sanitation. [6]

Another result from the rapid industrialization is the increased demand for electricity. Today

India suffers major problems with shortage of electricity which results in daily power cuts all

throughout India. In some cities these power cuts could last for hours leading to disturbances

in the daily routines and productivity losses.

Chennai is the fourth largest city in India, with a population of 4.3 million (2001 census). [47]

Like most of the municipalities in India today, the corporation of Chennai experiences

difficulties handling the problems related to SWM and shortage of electricity. The two

dumpsites in the city are overfilled and the environmental and health effects of the

mistreatment of waste during the past have started to get more noticeable.

The last decade’s pressure from the government of India with stricter regulations and

standards concerning SWM has forced the municipalities to more actively work towards a

change. What many municipalities advocate for future waste management is a solution that

minimizes the waste going to the dumpsite and at the same time generates energy. Such

solution is often referred to as an MSW-to-energy solution.

1.1 Background

This master’s thesis is a Minor Field Study (MFS), which is a scholarship program for field

studies in developing countries, funded by the Swedish International Development

Cooperation Agency (Sida). The project is carried out on behalf of Borlänge Energy, which is

an energy producing company situated in Borlänge, Sweden. They provide the city of

Borlänge with electricity and district heating from an MSW-to-energy facility.

Borlänge Energy has been involved in several projects on sustainable development in

developing countries during the past years. Since Borlänge Energy is a municipal owned

company, their involvement is not based on potential financial profits. The only finance for

these projects is subsidies from Sida. Borlänge Energy’s engagement reflects the culture of

16

the city and creates working opportunities for the citizens involved in these projects, which is

the main incentive.

Borlänge Energy’s engagement in India started with cooperation with the non-governmental

organisation (NGO), Hand in Hand, situated in Chennai. Hand in Hand is an international

organisation involved in many projects concerning sustainable development, including solid

waste management. This cooperation enables Hand in Hand to get funding for their projects

from Sida. Because of the fact that the engagement in India is relatively new, Borlänge

Energy requested a pre-study of the current waste situation in 2008, in order to determine the

feasibility for an MSW-to-energy project. Since Borlänge Energy has several years of

experience from producing energy from waste, they could assist with technology transfer and

know-how, if a future waste-to-energy project would be carried out in Chennai.

During the fieldwork in Chennai it became clear that one company had signed contract to take

care of a large part of the MSW in Chennai. The company’s name is Hydroair Tectonics Ltd

and is situated in Mumbai. Most likely, they will also take care of the other part of the MSW

in Chennai in the nearest future. Since their waste treatment methods were in line with

Borlänge Energy’s beliefs of sustainable waste management, the study changed focus and

started to see the possibilities of cooperating with this company.

The cooperation between Borlänge Energy and Hydroair Tectonics started successfully. A

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two companies was signed in October

2008. An MoU is a non-binding document that can be signed between organizations to

facilitate sharing of information and technology. One of the purposes with this agreement is

for Borlänge Energy to provide Hydroair Tectonics with technical knowledge, regarding

energy recovery from waste. Since the head of international projects at Borlänge Energy,

Ronny Arnberg, also is the chairman of the board in the international group at the Swedish

trade association Swedish Waste Management (Avfall Sverige), the cooperation has now

expanded to include even this association. Recently it was decided that the Swedish Waste

Management will be partner with Hydroair Tectonics in an upcoming project funded by Sida.

1.2 Objective

The aim with this master’s thesis is to do a feasibility study about the possibility to recover

energy from MSW in Chennai, with focus on combustion. In order to evaluate the feasibility

for building a combustion unit, the current waste and electricity situation in Chennai as well

as the future MSW treatment plans are analysed. This information will be used to formulate a

case study, in which the following questions are answered:

1. Should there be mass burning of MSW or only combustion of the burnable fraction of

the MSW (RDF)?

2. Who should process the waste and which methods should be used?

3. Where should the plant be situated?

4. Should there be co-incineration with another fuel? In that case, which fuel is suitable

for co-incineration?

5. Which technology should be used for combustion and what type of flue gas treatment

should be used?

6. Which type of energy should be recovered?

17

When the case is formulated the technical and financial viability are analysed. The possible

energy extracted from the plant is determined as well as the plant cost.

1.3 Expected result of the study

The study will result in an informative and analysing report of the current and future MSW

situation in Chennai. It is meant to serve as informative material for those people interested in

learning more about the MSW and electricity situation in Chennai as well as guidelines for

future MSW management.

1.3.1 For whom is this report written?

This master’s thesis is written on behalf of Borlänge Energy. It is written for decision makers,

NGO’s and private companies who might be involved in future MSW management in

Chennai.

Since this report assumes that the Indian company Hydroair Tectonics will play an important

role in future MSW management, the result of the case study is especially interesting for

them.

1.4 Limitations

MSW stands for the largest part of the waste generated in Chennai and causes difficult

problems for the municipality. Therefore, the focus will be on energy recovery from

MSW and not other waste types.

Energy recovery from MSW can be achieved through different technologies such as

biomethanation, gasification and combustion. Due to the fact that combustion has been

proven successful in many developed countries and that it is an efficient method to

reduce the volume of the waste, this study will focus on energy recovery from

combustion.

In the case study, only the technical and financial viability will be covered. The

environmental gains from improving the waste situation in Chennai will not be

evaluated, except from the carbon dioxide reductions, which will result in Certified

Emission Reductions (CERs) and thereby give financial revenues.

1.5 Methodology

The information in this master’s thesis is obtained through interviews, study visits and

literature studies. The methodologies used for the three main sections are described below as

well as the exchange rates used in this report.

1.5.1 Description of the current and future waste and electricity situation in Chennai

In this section the current and future waste and electricity situation in Chennai is described.

To be able to get an overview of the waste and electricity situation, several interviews with

companies, institutions and governmental actors involved in solid waste management in

Chennai were made.

18

The information about future MSW management in Chennai was given by the company

Hydroair Tectonics, since they are going to take care of at least half of the generated MSW in

Chennai in the near future. A study visit to one of Hydroair Tectonics MSW treatment plants

in Ichalkaranji, together with interviews and work at their head office in Mumbai made it

possible to thoroughly analyse their treatment methods.

1.5.2 Setting up a waste-to energy plant

This chapter gives an overview of the regulations and support systems that need to be

considered when setting up a waste-to-energy plant in India. The information is given by

interviews.

1.5.3 The case for MSW incineration in Chennai

In this chapter, the case study is presented and the technical and financial viability is analysed.

The presentation of the case is based on analysis of the information given in the sections

above.

In the technical viability analyses, the potential energy that can be extracted from the plant is

calculated. The methods used for the calculations are based on literature studies and known

equations. In the technical viability analysis it is assumed that the company Hydroair

Tectonics and the industry Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd will cooperate and

exchange energy/fuel. Therefore this section is based on data from these two companies.

Furthermore, standard values from Borlänge Energy’s waste-to-energy facility are used.

In the financial viability analysis, an estimation of the maximum plant cost for the project is

made, in order for the project to be profitable. The calculations are based on the possible

revenues from the plant and on the alternative costs for not building the plant. These data

were obtained from interviews and Internet sources.

1.5.4 Exchange rate

The financial calculations are based on the exchange rate on the 31 July 2009, given in Table

1. [43]

Table 1 The exchange rate as on 31 July 2009.

United States Dollar Indian Rupee Euro Swedish Krona

USD INR EUR SEK

1 48.1 0.707 7.31

19

2 Solid waste management and electricity production in Chennai

This chapter will give an overview of SWM in Chennai, with extra focus on management of

MSW. The electricity situation will be described as well as the current and future situation

concerning energy recovery from MSW.

2.1 Background

Chennai lies on India’s southeast coast and is the capital of the state Tamil Nadu. Figure 1

shows Chennai´s location. [155] Chennai district borders to Tiruvallur in the north and

Kancheepuram in the south, both within Tamil Nadu. The population of the city is 4.3 million

(2001 census), which makes it the fourth largest city in India. [47]

The English language is widely spoken in Chennai along

with the local language Tamil.

The city is known for its many IT and automobile

manufacturing industries. Many foreign and national

companies are located in large industrial areas in and in the

outskirt of the city. [52]

Chennai has a hot and humid climate with a maximum

temperature of 38-42 degree Celsius in June and a

minimum temperature of 18-20 degree Celsius in January.

The annual monsoon season is between mid-September and

mid-December, which is when Chennai get its most

rainfall. [52]

The municipality of Chennai is divided into 10 administrative zones, as can be seen in Figure

2. Each zone is further divided into 15 wards, which totally

gives 150 wards. The Corporation of Chennai (CoC) is the

local elected government in Chennai. [46] The CoC

provides Chennai with water supply, education, health care,

water drainage, electricity and solid waste management.

[49]

The department of Solid waste management (SWM) at CoC

takes care of all the handling of solid waste, from generation

to final disposal. Like many municipalities in India, the CoC

experiences a hard time handling the growing problem of

waste. The insufficient management in Chennai during the

past has put strain on the environment and peoples’ health

and the CoC has a heavy burden to carry on their shoulder

to try to improve the system.

NEPAL

INDIA

Tami Nadu State

Chennai

New

Delhi

CHINA

SRI LANKA

PAKISTAN

Figur 1 Map of India. [IN]

Figure 1 Map of India. [155]

Figure 2 The zones of Chennai. [160]

20

2.2 Solid waste generation

The solid waste in Chennai can be divided into the following categories: industrial waste,

agricultural waste, hazardous waste, bio-medical waste, e-waste, construction and demolition

waste and MSW. A study performed in 1996 by Chennai Metropolitan Development

Authority (CMDA) in collaboration with the World Bank shows that the residences are the

largest generator of solid waste in Chennai [54], which can be seen in Table 2.

Table 2 Solid waste generation sources in Chennai. [54]

Solid waste generation source [%]

Residences 68

Commercial buildings 14

Restaurants, Hotels, Schools and other 11

Markets 4

Hospitals and Clinics (collected separately) 3

Total 100

The following section will shortly explain the different types of waste in Chennai.

2.2.1 Industrial Waste

Industrial waste is unwanted material from an industrial operation. It may be liquid, sludge,

solid or hazardous waste. [55]

One of the largest industrial areas in Chennai is called Manali and is situated in the northern

suburb in the Tiruvallur district. Major chemical industries are situated in this area,

particularly petrochemical industries. [129]

No figures exist about how much industrial waste is generated every day in Chennai. The

industries are themselves responsible for taking care of their waste. The industries often have

private scrap dealers collecting their recyclable waste. The scrap dealers buy the waste from

the industries and sell it to manufacturing industries that recycle the material. [121]

2.2.2 Agricultural Waste

Agricultural waste is waste produced as a result of various agricultural operations. It includes

manure, harvest waste and other wastes from farms, poultry and slaughter houses. [56]

Within the ten zones of Chennai there is no land for agricultural purposes. Yet in the nearby

districts in Tamil Nadu there are areas used for agricultural operations. The interesting crops

for cultivation here are paddy, ground nut, prosopis juliflora and sugarcanes. [130]

In Tamil Nadu there are agricultural waste-to-energy projects from combustion, gasification

and biomethanation. There are nine combustion power plants, that together stand for 109

MW. There is one gasification plant (1 MW) and two biomethanation plants; one that uses

vegetable waste (0.25 MW) and one that uses poultry litter waste (4 MW). [130]

21

Figure 3 shows a 0.25 MW

biomethanation plant that was set

up at the Koyembedu wholesale

market complex in September

2005. Around 100 tons of

vegetable waste reaches the plant

every day. [54] The plant is

unique in India in the way that it

produces electricity only from

vegetable waste, no leather or

other animal waste. [131]

2.2.3 Hazardous Waste

Hazardous waste is waste that can cause significant damage to environment and human health

if it is not treated properly. [54]

During a long period of time the industries in Chennai disposed their hazardous waste

together with the MSW on roadsides and in low-lying areas, as there was no infrastructure

available. As an attempt to solve this problem the Supreme Court created the Hazardous

Waste Handling Rules 1989, which forced the state governments to provide infrastructure

such as landfills for disposal and treatment of hazardous waste. [54]

For fifteen years Tamil Nadu Government violated these rules allowing industrial expansion

without taking any measurements for the hazardous waste generated. The proposal from

Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), to establish common treatment storage and

disposal facility for hazardous waste, became a difficult issue because of the public opinion

that the nearby land and the groundwater would be polluted. Threatened by pressure from the

Supreme Court, the Tamil Nadu Government finally selected Gummidipoondi in the

Tiruvallur district for the treatment site. [58]

In January 2006 the work on a treatment facility in Gummidipoondi started, despite massive

public opposition. The facility is situated on a 40 acre big area and consists of a sanitary

landfill and an incinerator. [58]

2.2.4 Bio-Medical Waste

Bio-medical waste means any waste, which is generated during the diagnosis treatment of

immunization of human beings or animals in research activities or in the production or testing

of medication. [59]

Bio-medical waste is waste generated from healthcare centres. The 528 hospitals in Chennai

city generate about 12 000 kg of bio-medical waste per day. It is considered hazardous firstly

for its potential for infection and secondly for its ingredients of antibiotics, cytotoxic drugs,

corrosive chemicals and radioactive substances. [54] According to the Bio-Medical Waste

(Management and Handling) Rules, 1998, bio- waste needs to be treated in certain facilities.

[60] Two sites were chosen by TNPCB for location of common treatment and disposal of

Figure 3 The biomethanation plant in Koyembedu wholesale

market complex, Chennai. [57]

22

biomedical waste from hospitals in Chennai and the nearby districts. They are situated in

Thenmelpakkam and Chennakuppan in the Kancheepuram district. [54] The main processes

in these facilities are incineration and autoclaving.1 [61]

2.2.5 E-Waste

E-waste is the informal name of electronic products nearing the end of their useful life.

Products such as mobile phones, computers, refrigerators etc fall under this category. [132]

E-waste contains over a thousand different substances, many of which are toxic to

environment and human health. One of the primary sources of e-waste in Chennai is computer

waste from the many western IT companies which have been established in the southern parts

of the city.

Today there are no specific guidelines or environmental laws for e-waste in India. Since it is

considered both “hazardous” and “non-hazardous” it falls under the Hazardous Waste

Management Rules, 2003. [62] Thus, the creation of new guidelines for handling e-waste is in

progress by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which most likely will be

transformed into environmental laws later. [132]

TNPCB has authorized seven e-waste recycling industries, which receive e-waste scrap from

industries in Tamil Nadu. They use mechanical tools to break the scrap and then manually

segregate it into different components for recycling. The scrap is segregated into plastic

components, glass, ferrous and non-ferrous material. Some of the components are not suitable

for this process and are therefore exported to reprocessing facilities in Belgium, Singapore,

Hong Kong, China and Taiwan for metal recovery. [54]

However there are informal scrap dealers and recyclers in residential areas in Chennai and in

the outskirts of the city. With small tools and crude methods they manually sort out valuable

materials from the scrap. In order to segregate aluminium from the e-waste they often burn

the waste, which causes toxic air pollution. [54]

2.2.6 Construction and Demolition Waste

Construction and demolition waste is waste from building materials debris and debris

resulting from construction, re-modelling, repair and demolition operations. [63]

Every day Chennai city generates around 500 tons of construction and demolition waste.

There are a few sites identified by the CoC, where the generators of this waste can dump their

waste, as well as collect the waste if they want to use the material for landfilling etc. This

system does not work perfectly and it exists unauthorized dumping of construction debris

along certain roads. [54]

2.2.7 Municipal solid waste

MSW includes residential and commercial waste generated in a municipal area, excluding

industrial hazardous waste but including bio-medical waste. [63]

1Autoclaving is a process of killing pathogenic microorganisms through saturation with steam under pressure.

[42]

23

Low-income countries like India produce approximately 0.4-0.9 kg waste per person and day,

while the waste generation rate in high-income countries ranges from 1.1-5 kg per person and

day. [7] The average waste generation in Chennai is estimated to be 585 gram per person and

day, which is the highest per capita generation of all cities in India [64] [54]. The population

in Chennai 2008 was 5.03 million according to CMDA and the total amount of solid waste

collected per day was 3400 tons [54]. Zones 10 and 5 are the largest zones by area but zones 5

and 8 generate the highest amount of waste which is shown in Figure 4.

R

2.3 Municipal solid waste management in Chennai

The following text will explain the role of the governmental actors and the different aspects of

MSWM in Chennai.

2.3.1 Governmental actors responsible for SWM

In India it is the local bodies that have the overall responsibilities for SWM in each city.

Unfortunately, the municipal laws regarding SWM do not have adequate provision do deal

effectively with the problems of solid waste in India today. [9] However, governmental actors

provide the local bodies with certain directives and guidelines how the MSW should be

handled. The governmental actors that are responsible for SWM are the Ministry for

Environment and Forest (MoEF), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Ministry of

New and Renewable Energy (MNER) and the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD). [10]

2.3.1.1 The Ministry for Environment and Forest The principle activities of the Ministry for Environment and Forest (MoEF) consist of

protection of the environment in the form of legislations. This includes conservation of flora,

fauna, forest and wildlife as well as control and prevention of pollution. MoEF created the

Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000. [13]

Figure 5 illustrates the Municipal Solid Waste (M&H) Rules, 2000, in the form of Schedule

(I-IV). Below each schedule there are specifications, standards and procedure descriptions

how MSW should be handled. [20] The responsibility for the implementation of the

Municipal Solid Waste (M&H) Rules, 2000, lies within every municipality. [19]

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Zone

t/day

Figure 4 Zone wise garbage removal in Chennai. [128]

24

Schedule-I Relates to implementation Schedule

Schedule-II Specifications relating to collection, segregation, storage, transportation, processing and disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW).

Schedule-III Specifications for landfilling indicating; site selection, facilities at the site, specifications for landfilling, pollution prevention, water quality monitoring, ambient air quality monitoring, plantation at landfill site, closure of landfill site and post care.

Schedule-IV Indicate waste processing options including; standards for composting, treated leachates and incinerations

Figure 5 The Municipal Solid Waste (M&H) Rules, 2000. [157]

2.3.1.2 Central Pollution Control Board Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is together with the State Pollution Control Boards

responsible for the implementation and review of the standards and guidelines described in

the Municipal Solid Waste (M&H) Rules, 2000. They shall make sure that the monitored data

will be in compliance with the standards specified under Schedules II, III and IV. [19] In

Tamil Nadu it is the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), which has the

responsibility on state level.

CPCB advises the Central Government on any matter concerning the improvement of the

quality of air and prevention and control of air and water pollution. If a company wants to set

up a facility that will cause pollution, it needs to get clearance from CPCB. [22]

2.3.1.3 The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is responsible for both renewable

energies and new fossil fuel technologies. Its main objectives regarding MSW management

are

to accelerate the promotion for MSW-to-energy projects

to create favourable conditions with financial regime, to develop and demonstrate the

viability of recovering energy from waste

to realize the available potential of MSW-to-energy by the year 2017 [8]

Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA) implements The Ministry of New and

Renewable Energy’s (MNRE’s) goals and visions on state level. They encourage research and

development on renewable energy sources and implement such projects within Tamil Nadu as

well as distribute subsidies to the projects. [89] TEDA promotes mainly four renewable

energy sources: wind, biomass, solar energy and energy recovery from waste. [130]

2.3.1.4 The Ministry of Urban Development The Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) created the solid waste management manual,

which serves as guidelines for the municipalities to handle their work more efficiently. It also

provides the municipalities with technical guidelines on aspects of solid waste management.

[10]

The urban local bodies, which are responsible for the SWM in each city, often lack adequate

knowledge and expertise to deal efficiently with the problems of waste management. As an

attempt to improve the situation, the MoUD decided in 1998 to create a solid waste

25

management manual. The manual serves as guidelines for the urban local bodies to handle

their work more efficiently. [15]

According to the solid waste management manual, the best method to deal with waste in India

is to adapt the “hierarchy of waste management”. This method is known throughout the world

as a sustainable solution for the growing problem of solid waste. Figure 6 shows the hierarchy

as it is described in the solid waste management manual.

Figure 6 Hierarchy of waste management. [15]

1. Waste minimisation/reduction at source means that the waste is prevented from

entering the waste stream by the means of reusing products and using less material for

manufacturing them.

2. Recycling means the act of sorting out recyclable materials like plastic, glass, metals

and paper from the waste and reprocessing them into new products.

3. Waste processing includes biological and thermal processing and can result in useful

products like energy and compost.

a) Biological processing includes composting and biomethanation.

b) Thermal processing includes combustion, pyrolysis and gasification.

4. Waste transformation (without recovery of resources) is for example combustion

without energy recovery. Mechanical decomposition and autoclaving fall under this

category.

5. Disposal on land (landfilling) should be the solution only if the waste cannot be

treated with the four previous methods. The landfills should be designed to minimize

the impact on the environment. [15]

2.3.2 Local bodies responsible for SWM in Chennai

In each state in India it is the local urban bodies that are responsible for solid waste

management. They can choose if they want to have full responsibility of SWM in the

community or outsource some of the responsibility to private contractors. In many cities in

India there are also NGOs or other welfare organizations helping with SWM. This section will

describe the different actors responsible for SWM in Chennai.

Minimisation

Recycling

Processing

Recycling Transformation

Disposal on land

Most prefered

Least prefered

26

2.3.2.1 The CoC and private contractors The overall responsibility of SWM in Chennai lies within the Solid Waste Management

Department in the CoC. 7 percent of the CoC’s total budget is allotted to this specific

department. Each zone has an assistant commissioner responsible for the SWM in the

corresponding zone. Yet, during the last decades the CoC has experienced difficulties keeping

SWM at a good level, especially regarding MSWM. Therefore, the CoC has since a couple of

years outsourced some of the collection and transportation of the MSW to private contractors.

[64]

Chennai was the first city in India to outsource SWM to a

private company. For seven years a Singaporean based

company ONYX was responsible for sweeping, collecting,

storing and transporting MSW in zone 6, 8 and 10, and to

create public awareness in these zones. In 2007 the private

company Neel Metal Fanalca replaced ONYX in the three

zones. In July 2008 a fourth zone was privatised; zone 3, which

is included in Neel Metal Fanalca’s responsibility. [64] The

privatised zones are seen in figure 7.

Neel Metal Fanalca is a joint venture between Fanalca SA of

Columbia and JBM Group of India. Fanalca SA of Columbia

has 20 years of experience in SWM and operates in Colombia,

Panama, Chile, Venezuela and now India. [65]

The waste collection by the private company is more efficient

due to more machines and less manpower. The total cost for

street sweeping, collection and transporting of waste by the

CoC is $33 per ton compared to $25 per ton by the private

company. [64] According to R Umapathy, head of the waste

management department at CoC, the CoC currently prefers a

50-50 distribution between private and governmental collection

to balance efficiency versus unemployment. [128]

2.3.2.2 NGOs and welfare associations NGOs and welfare associations have a significant role in the SWM in Chennai. In some areas

they assist the CoC with collection of the waste at household level. Civic Exnora is an

international NGO funded in Chennai and active on grass root level. They educate households

in recycling and reusing waste as well as motivate communities to work towards Zero Waste.

Another NGO in Chennai, Hand in Hand, employs former ragpickers to a low, but stable

monthly salary. [64]

2.3.3 Collection and transportation of MSW

The collection and transportation of waste are similar in all zones, regardless if it is the

government or the private company who is responsible. Both of them need to follow the

Municipal Solid Waste (M&H) Rules, 2000. The structure of the transportation and collection

system is described in this section.

Figure 7 In the four zones

marked, SWM is outsourced to

the private company Neel Metal

Fanalca. [65]

27

2.3.3.1 Structure of collection and transportation

The collection and transportation of the waste is made in two different ways depending on

how the waste is generated. Household waste is collected through door-to-door collection

with tricycles. Waste thrown on the streets is collected through street bin collection with

compactors. [128] The collection efficiency in Chennai is 73 percent, which means that 73

percent of all the MSW in Chennai is collected and transported to a final disposal. [76] A

schematic view over Chennai’s MSW collection and transportation is seen in Figure 8.

Door-to-door collection: Tricycles collect the

waste from bins outside the households. These

bins are emptied in larger bins placed on the

tricycle. The households are supposed to

segregate their domestic waste into two different

bins, the organic waste in green bins and the

recyclable waste in red bins. The bins are shown

in figure 9. The tricycle then has corresponding

red and green bins for the collected waste. This

is however not totally implemented in Chennai

at the moment. Few households have two

Municipal Solid Waste Collection

Street Sweeping

Street Bins Collection

Door-to-door Collection

Collection Point

Transfer Station

Dumpsite

Recyclable Material

Figure 8 MSW collection scheme. [128]

Figure 9 Bins used for segregation of

waste. [39]

28

different bins. Nevertheless, the future goal is to implement two parallel waste

streams, one organic and one inorganic. [128]

Street sweeping: Street sweeping has become

the principal method of primary collection in

Chennai and other cities in India. [9] The

street sweepers use short brooms to clear the

streets from waste which then is put in bins

along the roadsides. [39] Figure 10 shows an

Indian street sweeper.

Street bins collection: Compactors collect the

waste from the street bins. After the

collection, the compactors transport the waste to a collection point, a transfer station or

the dumpsite depending on which is closest. [128]

Collection point: If the distance to the transfer station is far, the tricycles and

compactors leave the waste at a collection point. At the collection point recyclable

material such as plastic, paper and metal is segregated, often by ragpickers. The

recyclable material is then sold to private scrap dealers. From the collection point,

compactors transport the remaining waste to a transfer station. [64]

Transfer station: At the transfer station

machines lift the waste from the compactors

or tricycles to a heavy vehicle, a four-wheel-

drive lorry, which can be seen in figure 11.

The Lorry transports the waste to a dumpsite

for final disposal. Chennai has totally eight

transfer stations, each for one zone, except

for zones 6 and 10 that share transfer station.

Zone 1 lies very close to Kodungaiyur

dumpsite and therefore has neither collection

point nor transfer station. [64]

2.3.3.2 Collection and Transportation by the CoC The CoC is responsible for the collection of MSW in zones 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 and 9. The CoC has

9700 workers employed to handle the MSW in these six zones, most of whom are street

sweepers. [128] The CoC’s vehicles are coloured red, green and yellow. The tricycle used for

door-to-door collection and the compactor can be seen in figure 12.

Figure 11 Transfer station. [65]

Figure 10 Indian street sweeper. [156]

29

Figure 12 Tricycle collecting waste at door step (left) and compactor emptying a street bin (right). [128]

2.3.3.3 Collection and Transportation by Neel Metal Fanalca Neel Metal Fanalca is responsible for the waste

in the remaining four zones, except for

demolition and construction waste and drainage

water. 2700 people are employed by Neel Metal

Fanalca to handle SWM in these four zones. The

vehicles are white with a green leaf and marked

Neel Metal Fanalca. [65] Figure 13

shows one of Neel Metal Fanalca’s vehicles.

2.3.4 Recycling

The CoC does not have a formal recycling program, whereas Neel Metal Fanalca recycles

parts of their waste at their transfer stations. However, the informal sector takes care of the

largest part of the recycling activities. This sector has formed a wide network with different

hierarchical levels. Ragpickers, the lowest standing in this hierarchy, collect recyclable

material in the streets, at collection points, transfer stations and dumpsites. [54] They sell the

recyclable material to private dealers, who sell it to the recycling industry. This chapter will

give an overview of recycling activities by Neel Metal Fanalca and recycling by the informal

sector, in the form of ragpickers.

2.3.4.1 Recycling in the formal sector Neel Metal Fanalca has employees working at the transfer stations to segregate the valuable

material from the waste. The recycled fractions are sold to fixed prices shown in table 3.

Figure 13 Neel Metal Fanalca vehicle. [161]

30

Table 3 Market price for waste fractions. [133]

Waste fractions [Rs./kg] [$]

Plastic 13 0.27

Glass 1.5 0.031

Paper 3.5 0.073

Liquor bottles (coloured) 3 0.062

Liquor bottles (white) 11 0.23

Metal 7 0.15

Plastic bottles 11 0.23

Neel Metal Fanalca’s vision is to segregate everything except the inert material. To be able to

fulfil this goal, the public awareness has to increase. The segregation has to start at household

level with segregation of organic and non-organic waste into separate bins. This is planned to

be achieved through education campaigns to politicians, schools and people through public

meetings. [133]

2.3.4.2 Ragpickers About one fourth of the population in India live under the poverty line, which means that they

have less than $1 per day per person. [2] For some of these people MSW becomes a source of

income by recycling and reusing the waste. A large amount of the MSW generated is recycled

through ragpickers. It is one of the poorest and marginalized groups of people in India. They

are neither employed by the CoC nor do they get regular salaries. Because of this they are

referred to as the informal sector. Nevertheless, they have a significant role in Chennai’s

MSWM. Each day ragpickers recycle approximately 400 tons of Chennai’s MSW and thereby

they reduce the transportation cost for the CoC. [54]

Since MSW contains hazardous waste including medical waste, the ragpickers are exposed to

safety and health risks while walking around and segregating waste without any safety

equipment. Ragpickers are not included in the general laws concerning employment, and

therefore, will not get any help on the occasion of illness or accidents. [66]

Ragpickers scavenge for recyclable material such as paper, plastic, glass and metal. Each

kilogram segregated waste is sold to waste dealers for a few rupees. Their daily income

reaches from Rs. 40 to 100 ($0.83-$2.10). [67] The most valuable material is metal. In order

to segregate the metals from the waste the ragpickers have historically started fires on the

dumpsite. Burning of waste releases toxic compounds to the air, which cause health risks for

the surrounding people. As an attempt to solve the problem the CoC decided in 2008 to ban

the ragpickers from entering to the dumpsite. This decision has changed the livelihood for

about 300 rag-picking families in Chennai and many of them are on the verge of starvation.

[69]

2.3.5 MSW treatment

Today the management of MSW is going through a difficult phase in metropolitan cities

because of the unavailability of facilities to treat and dispose the waste generated. The most

common methods for treating MSW today in India are uncontrolled burning and unscientific

disposal on open dumpsites.

31

The uncontrolled burning of waste is performed by locals in alleys in the city and in rural

areas where MSWM is poorly developed. Furthermore, it is performed at dumpsites by

ragpickers as a way to segregate the valuable metals from the waste.

In contrast to scientific landfills, open dumpsites do not have any collection of leachate water

or capture of landfill gas, i.e. methane gas, neither do they use inert material to cover the

waste. A description of the two dumpsites in Chennai is given in this section as well as future

plans for MSW disposal.

2.3.5.1 Dumpsites in Chennai At present, Chennai has two open dumpsites, Perungudi in the south and Kodungaiyur in the

north, both of which are uncontrolled. These dumpsites are placed on marshy land, which

used to be aquifers and bird sanctuaries. [37]

The northern zones dump their waste at Kodungaiyur dumpsite, which represent about half of

the total amount of waste generated in Chennai. The other half comes from the southern zones

and is dumped at Perungudi dumpsite. The characteristics of the two dumping grounds can be

seen in table 4.

Table 4 Characteristics of Chennai´s two dumpsites. [70]

Dumping ground Kodungaiyur Perungudi

Location North of Chennai (within

the city) in zone 1 South of Chennai (outside the city)

Opening year 1980 1968

Neighbourhood within [km] 1 0.5

Daily Waste disposed [tons/day] 1400-1500 1500-1800

Disposal by [zones] 1-5 6-10

Area of disposal [ha] 140 80

Average height [m] 5 3.2

When the sun heats the glass material among the waste, the waste around get heated up which

eventually starts small fires, as seen in figure 14. [120]

Figure 14 Perungudi dumpsite seen from outside. The second figure illustrates smoke from fires caused by

glass material at the dumpsite [161]

32

2.3.4.4 Future MSW disposal CMDA has not yet identified a new landfill site for future MSW disposal. The CoC is going

to optimize and modernize the two existing dumpsites as well as minimize the waste going

there, by processing and segregation (see chapter 5 for further description of future MSWM).

This will extend the lifespan of the two existing dumpsites with 50-100 years according to

CMDA. [135]

2.4 Environmental and health impacts of MSW treatment

Unscientific dumping and open burning are the least preferred treatments for MSW, causing

severe environmental and health related problems. The following text will give an overview

of how the MSWM in Chennai has affected the citizens and the surrounding environment.

2.4.1 Environmental and health impacts of open dumping

Because of the shortage of land in urban areas in India, areas not suitable for any other

purposes are often chosen as dumpsites. Hence, these areas are often inappropriate for waste

disposal. This is also the case in Chennai, where both the dumpsites are placed on marshland.

This facilitates the spreading of toxic compounds to the groundwater. [120]

The Municipal Solid Waste (M&H) Rules, 2000, require that the site chosen for the dumpsite

is suitable for this purpose. The site should be examined to make sure that it will meet certain

criteria. The two dumpsites in Chennai only meet the requirements in the Municipal Solid

Waste (M&H) Rules, 2000, on 4 out of 17 criteria. [37] Consequently pollutants are spread to

the surrounding environment, affecting wildlife and humans.

The wetlands on which the two dumpsites in Chennai are placed are connected to the Bay of

Bengal through canals and backwaters. Lead, mercury and dioxins affect the marine life as

they bio-accumulate in fish and eventually also accumulate in humans while consuming fish.

[37]

The contamination of the soil and groundwater as a result of not collecting the leachate water,

leads to polluted water that people use for sanitary purposes. Every year thousands of people

in India die from diarrhoea diseases caused by insufficient sanitation. [14] In Chennai, studies

show that the residents around the dumpsites have to spend more money to purchase water

and medicine than in other locations in the city. [73] Other problems due to open dumping are

contamination of the surface water by the run-off from dumpsites, acidification of the soil,

bad odour, pests, rodents and the spread of epidemics through stray animals. [15]

Another aspect is the biodiversity and ecological value that these areas had before they

became dumpsites, considering the fact that these lands used to serve as aquifers and bird

sanctuaries.

2.4.1.1 Emissions of methane (CH4) due to open dumping Dumpsites are also a large source of methane gas. Since methane is a 21 times more

aggressive greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide it will have an impact on global warming on a

large scale. India is currently one of the world’s largest methane emitters from solid waste

disposal. [10] Appendix 4 shows the calculation of methane emissions from Chennai’s

dumpsites with the first-order decay model. [75] The result shows that the methane gas

33

emitted in Chennai during 2008 was 28 000 tons (595 000 tons CO2 eq). According to data

from 2004, Chennai accounted for 6 percent of India’s methane emissions from landfills.

2.4.2 Environmental and health impacts of uncontrolled burning

The health effects from open burning have become more noticeable the recent years in

Chennai. In the daily newspapers there are constant articles about people living close to the

dumpsites who complain about health problems such as rashes and suffocation, due to the

pollution from the fires started by ragpickers. [68]

The emissions from uncontrolled burning of waste depend on the combustion process and on

the composition of waste. Table 5 describes how different emissions are created and their

effect on the environment and health.

If combustion takes place in an incineration plant, the burning process can be controlled and

optimized for good incineration conditions. Moreover, the created pollutants can be reduced

with flue gas treatment. Open burning on the other hand, will release the pollutants directly to

the atmosphere. [17]

34

Table 5 Description of how different emissions are created and their effect on the environment and health.

[152]

Emissions The formation is due to: Gives the following effect on health and

environment:

Nitrogen oxides (NOX) The nitrogen content of the

fuel

Acidification

Eutrophication

Contributes to the formation of ambient ozone

Poisons the blood if inhaled

Sulphur dioxide (SO2)

The sulphur content of the fuel

The combustion process: temperature, oxygen concentration and duration

Acidification

Health effects for persons with inhalation problems

Carbon dioxide (CO2) The carbon content of the

fuel

Contributes to the greenhouse effect (only the carbon with fossil origin contributes)

Carbon monoxide (CO) The combustion process:

Created when the supply is scarce

Harmful to the cardiovascular system

Voltaic organic compounds (VOC)

The combustion process: Created when the oxygen supply is scarce

Cancerogenic

Contributes to the formation of ambient ozone

Methane is a VOC that contributes to the greenhouse effect

Dust The ash content of the waste

The combustion process

Harmful if inhaled, heavy metals get stuck to particles which is transported to the lungs

Nitrous oxide (N2O) The combustion process:

Crated at low combustion temperatures

Contributes to the greenhouse effect

Heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Hg et al)

The heavy metal content of the fuel

Most heavy metals are toxic to human and wildlife

Hydrogen chloride (HCl)

The combustion process: The combustion temperature, the oxygen supply, the presence of catalyst

The PVC content in the waste i.e. the chlorinated material in the fuel

Acidification

Dioxins The chloride content in the

presence of copper, which works as a catalyst

Can cause cancer while accumulating in fatty tissues in human and wildlife

The most significant effect on the local environment and people’s health around the dumpsite

due to open burning are the emissions of dioxins. The following will give a deeper analysis of

the dioxin concentration around one of the dumpsites in Chennai.

2.4.2.2 Emissions of dioxins due to open burning Open burning is a significant source of high dioxin concentrations in the soil and air around

the dumpsites. Dioxins are toxic pollutants which are created when MSW is burned.

Appendix 13 gives a brief explanation of dioxins. The major source of dioxin is burning of

chlorinated waste such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC). [79]

35

A study conducted by Minh et al. (2003) [79] in collaboration with Annamalai University in

Tamil Nadu measured the concentrations of the dioxins PCDDs, PCDFs and PCBs around

Perungudi dumpsite. The concentration of the dioxins in the soil at the dumpsite was

compared to a reference site, a control site, at least 30 km away from any dumpsite. The result

showed a 224 times higher concentration of PCDD/Fs at the dumpsite compared to the control

site. For PCBs it was 238 times higher. The concentrations of PCDD/Fs and PCBs with the

Toxic Equivalent (TEQs) can be seen in table 6.

Table 6 Concentration of PCDD/Fs and PCBs in soil samples from Perungudi dumpsite and a control site.

[79]

Perungudi dumpsite Control site

[pg/g dry weight] [TEQs] [pg/g dry weight] [TEQs]

Total PCDD/Fs 7 400 47 33 0.2

Range PCDD/Fs 2 200-34 000 9.9 -200 18-79 0.05-0.34

Total PCBs 6 670 5.1 28 0.022

Range PCBs 1 300-20 000 2.4-10 12-52 0.015-0.029

Furthermore the study looks at the exposure of dioxins to humans living near the dumpsite.

Dioxins are lipophilic and enter fatty tissues in human and wildlife either direct through

dermal absorption and inhalation of dust from polluted soil or indirect by consuming food

grown in contaminated areas. The assessment was implemented on two groups of people,

ragpickers at the dumpsite and people living far away from the dumpsite who were the control

group. More than a hundred people were daily observed at Perungudi dumpsite when the

study was conducted in 2000. The results are displayed divided into adults and children in

table 7. It is seen that children’s intake through ingestion is eleven times higher than for

adults. The people at the dumpsite had around 260 times higher concentrations of dioxins in

the fatty tissues compared to the control site for both children and adults. [79]

Table 7 Estimated intakes of PCDD/Fs for children and adults via soil ingestion and dermal exposure. [79]

Perungudi dumpsite Control site

Adult Child Adult Child

Soil ingestion [pg TEQ/kg/day] 0.0152 0.1730 0.00006 0.00067

Dermal exposure [pg TEQ/kg/day] 0.0361 0.0310 0.00014 0.00012

2.5 Characteristics of MSW in Chennai

The waste composition depends on several factors such as income, climate, culture, food

habits and lifestyle etc. [24] MSW in low-income countries contains a larger fraction of

organic matter and less recyclable material than high-income countries due to different life

style and consumption patterns. The waste in low-income countries also has a high percentage

of inert material. The reason is first of all the high amount of ash from the traditional use of

biomass as fuel and secondly the daily activities of street sweeping.

2.5.1 The Composition of MSW in Chennai

There are two main studies made analysing the composition and the chemical characteristics

of the MSW generated in Chennai. The first analysis is made by the CoC in 2003 and the

second analysis is made by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute

(NEERI) in 2006. [54] [128] Depending on where the analyses are made, if they are made on

36

the dumpsite or earlier in the waste stream, the results could differ. In these cases the MSW is

assumed to be from the dumpsite. Figure 15 illustrates the composition of the MSW generated

in Chennai.

Figure 15 Analysis of the composition of MSW in Chennai, made by the CoC (2003) and NEERI (2006).

[49] [54]

The result shows that the two largest fractions of the MSW are organic waste and inert

material.

2.5.1.1 Organic waste The organic components consist of kitchen waste and green waste. Green waste consists of

garden waste and waste from agricultural operations. Figure 16 illustrates the relation between

the two components. Since the year 2000, there has been a ban for dumping organic waste in

India according to the Municipal Solid Waste (M&H) Rules, 2000. The rules require that all

organic waste should be segregated and processed, with the aim to reduce methane production

in the dumpsites. However, the CoC and other municipalities throughout the country

experience difficulties monitoring and enforcing this rule. [10]

Figure 16 Analysis of the composition of organic matter in Chennai, made by the CoC 2003. [49]

2.5.1.2 Recyclable Waste

37

The recyclable waste in Chennai consists of plastic, paper, metals and glass. As shown in

figure 17, the fraction of paper and plastic is very high. Since metal is removed by ragpickers

for their high re-sale value, the fraction found on the dumpsites is very low.

The plastic waste can be divided in two different categories: thermoplastics and thermoset

plastics. They stand for 80 percent and 20 percent respectively, of the consumer plastic waste

generated in India. The thermoplastics are recyclable plastic and consist of Polyethylene

Terephthalate (PET), Low Density Poly Ethylene (LDPE), Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) etc.

while thermoset plastics are non-recyclable and contain alkyd, epoxy, ester, melamine

formaldehyde, polyurethane etc. [81]

Figure 17 Analysis of the composition of the recyclable fraction in Chennai, made by NERRI (2006). [54]

2.5.1.3 Inert Material The inert material in the MSW in Chennai consists of bricks, sand, stone and silt. The largest

part of this waste comes from street sweeping and illegal dumping of construction and

demolition waste. [128]

2.5.2 Chemical characteristics of MSW

The chemical characteristics of the MSW in Chennai are illustrated in table 8.

Table 8 The chemical characteristics of the MSW in Chennai, based on analysis made by the CoC (2003)

and NEERI (2006). [49] [54]

Characteristics CoC NEERI

Moisture content [%] 27.6 47.0

Ph value 7.7 6.2-8.1

Volatile matter at 550C [%] no data 42.6

Carbon [%] 21.5 24.7

Nitrogen Content [%] 0.8 0.9

Phosphorus as P2O3 [%] 0.6 0.4

Potassium as K2O [%] 0.6 0.9

C/N Ratio [%] no data 29.3

2.5.3 Heating value

The heating value of a fuel is the amount of heat released by a specific quantity of the fuel at

complete combustion. Two types of heating value are defined, a lower and a higher. The

38

lower heating value takes into consideration the amount of energy needed to vaporize the

moisture in the fuel. The higher heating value on the other hand includes this energy. It is

thereby important to define if it is the higher or lower value that is given, to be able to make a

comparison.

According to the CoC the lower heating value of the MSW in Chennai is between 1.1 and 1.2

MWh/ton, (946-1032 kcal/kg), which is a value given for India in general. [136]

Since knowing that the heating value of the MSW in Chennai is an important factor for

deciding if this waste is suitable for combustion, the heating value has also been estimated

numerically. There are different methods to calculate the heating value of a fuel. A common

method is to use the Dulong’s formula, as described in box 1. This method takes into account

the content of moisture, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur in the fuel. Given the

information about the content of these substances in each component of MSW, given in

appendix 6, and the information about the percentage of each component in the MSW, the

total heating value of the mixed MSW can be calculated. The result shows that the lower

heating value of the MSW in Chennai is 1.6 MWh/ton (1376 kcal/kg).

39

2.5.4 Future waste characteristics

Future waste characteristics in India and Chennai will be more similar to those in high-income

countries, with more recyclable material, less inert components and the organic fraction will

be proportionally smaller. Thus, the heating value will be higher. More packaging material

will increase the need for more environmental friendly material for a sustainable

development. Today, one fourth of the plastic material used in India consists of PVC, which

is a chemical that is almost phased out in many high income countries. [25]

𝐻𝑖 = 0.339 ∙ 𝑐 + 0.105 ∙ 𝑠 + 𝑕 − 𝑜

8 − 0.0251 ∙ 𝑤

𝐻𝑠 = 𝐻𝑖 + 2.5

100∙ (9 ∙ 𝑕 + 𝑤)

Box 1 Estimation of the heating value of MSW in Chennai The heating value of a fuel can be calculated using the Dulong’s formula [100]:

Where:

Hi Lower heating value [MJ/kg]

Hs Higher heating value [MJ/kg]

c coal [mass%]

s sulphur [mass%]

h hydrogen [mass%]

o oxygen [mass%]

w water [mass%]

Assumptions:

Study

Mass percentage of specific substances in MSW

m(w) (%) m(c) (%) m(h) (%) m(o) (%) m(n) (%) m(s) (%)

CoC 31.7 16.8 2.4 12.1 0.6 0.06

NEERI 38.8 16.8 2.4 12.1 0.7 0.06

The mass percentage of the substances in MSW in Chennai, was calculated from the

information about the energy content in each component of the waste. (see appendix 6)

Result:

Study

LHV (Hi) HHV (Hs)

MWh/ton kcal/kg MWh/ton kcal/kg

CoC 1.6 1376 2.0 1720

NEERI 1.6 1376 2.0 1720

According to Dulong’s formula both the studies show that the lower heating value in

Chennai is 1.6 MWh/ton (1376 kcal/kg) and the higher is 2.0 MWh/ton (1720 kcal/kg).

40

2.6 Electricity production in Chennai

This chapter will give an overview of the electricity situation in Chennai and the possibility to

produce electricity from MSW.

2.6.1 The electricity situation in Chennai

Today Chennai suffers from daily power cuts, which can last for hours. The power cuts vary

in length and differ between areas in Chennai, though a normal power cut lasts one to two

hours. [86] Many of the power cuts are announced, meaning that the time and the area of a

power cut are decided in advance. A consequence of this is that many citizens plan their

working days after the power cuts, resulting in loss of productivity and disturbances in the

daily life.

The shortage of electricity in Chennai and in many cities in India is partly because the

government has not been able to keep up with the country’s economic growth the recent

years. Hence, the installed capacity of power stations has not been enough to cover the

demand. In January 2009 Tamil Nadu suffered an electricity deficit of 7.3 percent and the

shortage during peak hours was 853 MW which can be seen in table 9. [84]

Table 9 Tamil Nadu's power supply and peak demand in January 2009. [84]

Power Supply in Tamil Nadu January 2009

Requirement [MWh] Availability [MWh]

Surplus/Deficit (-)

[MWh] [%]

5243 4860 -383 -7.3

Peak demand/Peak met in Tamil Nadu January 2009

Peak demand [MW] Peak met [MW]

Surplus/Deficit (-)

[MW] [%]

9180 8327 -853 -9.3

The power disruptions are a problematic issue especially for the industries in Chennai. The

city hosts 30 percent of India’s automobile industry and 35 percent of India’s auto component

industry. [82] Moreover, 14 percent of India’s total software exports come from Chennai. [83]

The power interruptions affect the industries that get an irregular working week, resulting in

loss of productivity. [134] For several industries the power disruptions have caused increased

production costs. Nevertheless, for fear of losing business, the extra cost is not passed on to

the consumers, resulting in closing of small-scale industries. [85] Besides from industries,

other examples of sectors that suffer hard from the power cuts are hospitals and educational

institutions, even though the government claims that essential service should not be affected.

[86]

2.6.1.1 The governmental actors responsible for electricity production The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) is the national authority responsible for matters

regarding electricity production, transmission and distribution. They advise the government

on questions relating to national electricity policy and they formulate plans for development

of the electricity system. [27]

Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB), which is the state government energy supplier in

Tamil Nadu, is the only licensed energy distributor in Tamil Nadu. TNEB generates, transmits

41

and distributes electricity. [87] 50 percent of the electricity in Tamil Nadu is produced by

TNEB. The remaining electricity is provided from the national grid or by private producers.

[137]

2.6.1.2 The price for electricity An electricity producing company can sell the generated electricity to TNEB for

approximately Rs. 3/kWh ($0.062/kWh). Depending on what fuel this company uses, the

price differs slightly. If the company uses renewable energy sources the price is Rs. 3.15/kWh

($0.065/kWh). The TNEB sells the electricity to the users of electricity in the state of Tamil

Nadu. Depending on the user, the price for electricity differs. For industries the price is Rs.

6/kWh ($0.12/kWh) while it is Rs. 2.5/kWh ($0.052/kWh) for residences. For the agricultural

sector, electricity is provided for free because of their difficult financial situation. [130]

2.6.2 Installed capacity of power stations in Tamil Nadu

The total installed capacity of power plants in Tamil Nadu was 14 GW on January 2009. A

power station can be owned by the government of India, a state government or by private

companies. The ownership of power stations in each energy sector is specified in appendix 1.

Tamil Nadu’s energy mix is seen in figure 18. The installed capacity from Renewable Energy

Sources (RES) was slightly above 4 GW which corresponds to 31 percent. This makes Tamil

Nadu the state in India with the highest rate of renewable energy sources. [88] Discounting

larger hydropower plants, the main non-conventional energy source in Tamil Nadu is wind

energy. [130]

Figure 18 Installed capacity in Tamil Nadu, January 2009. [88]

2.6.3 Future electricity production

The Indian government has specified a goal in the 11th

New and Renewable Energy five-year

plan, which tells that 10 percent of the power generation capacity should come from

renewable sources by the end of the year 2012. [16] This number does not include

hydropower plants larger than 25 MW. Compared to Chennai which has a share of 31 percent

renewable energy sources in their energy mix, India as a whole only has 9 percent, (as on 31

January 2009). The increased demand for electricity the upcoming years will impose the

development for electricity production from renewable energies.

*Renewable energy sources (RES)

includes small hydro power plants (up

to 25 MW), wind energy, bio energy

and waste energy.

42

2.6.3.1 Potential for power generation from MSW Waste-to-energy will play an important role to reach the target of 10 percent power generation

from renewable sources. The installed power capacity from waste-to-energy plant in India

was 90 MW on 31 January 2009, of which 31 MW was produced in captive power plants

meaning that the power plant use the energy produced for their own use. [121], [29] Today,

the largest part of the power generated from waste comes from agricultural waste. However,

both industrial waste and MSW are interesting for power generation.

A few projects already exist in India with power generation from MSW, whereas in Chennai

no such projects exist. Nevertheless, the growing amount of garbage and the electricity deficit

in Tamil Nadu have opened the discussion further for future MSW-to-energy alternatives.

Except for contributing with electricity to the grid, future electricity production from MSW

would have benefits such as

replacing fossil fuel, which is the most common fuel for electricity production in

Tamil Nadu

prolonging the lifespan of the two overfilled dumpsites in Chennai, since less waste

will be dumped

decreasing the pollution related to open dumping.

2.7 The current situation for MSW-to-energy

The technology of producing energy from MSW has been accepted and proven worldwide. In

India on the other hand, the viability of this technology is yet to be demonstrated. As

mentioned above, there are no current activities for producing energy from MSW in Chennai.

Yet, in other cities in India MSW-to-energy projects have been commissioned, more or less

successfully during the last decade. The following chapter will give an insight into these

projects in order to better understand the challenges with implementing an MSW-to-energy

project in Chennai.

2.7.1 Combustion

Combustion is an exothermic chemical reaction that occurs when a fuel is heated in an oxygen

rich environment. When energy is extracted from burning of MSW, the combustion takes

place in a closed combustion chamber with surplus of air and temperature range of 700-1300

degrees. The incineration techniques and flue gas treatments are described more thoroughly in

chapter 5 and appendix 12. There are two options which are commonly used for combustion

of MSW:

Mass burning

Combustion of RDF

Mass burning of MSW is a common method for waste reduction and energy recovery in high-

income countries. The waste is burnt directly in a boiler without processing it further to

pellets or “fluff”. It requires waste with sufficient heating value to sustain combustion.

However, in India and other developing countries, this technology is not much practiced.

43

If the burnable fraction of MSW is sorted out and further homogenized the result is called

Refuse Derived Fuel or shortly RDF. For a more detailed description of the segregation

process see section 3.1.2. In developing countries it is more common to incinerate RDF than

MSW, since the heating value of the MSW is often too low to sustain combustion. Since the

inert and organic waste is sorted out from the RDF fraction, the heating value will be higher

than for MSW. The RDF can be combusted in a fluidized bed or in a grate, co-incinerated in

industrial boilers or used in pyrolysis and gasification systems. The steam generated from the

process can be used to produce energy. [30]

2.7.1.1 Mass burning plants in India Today there are no operating incineration plants for direct incineration of MSW in India.

There have been failed projects in the past, which has strengthened the opinion that direct

incineration is not suitable for Indian waste. [9] Box 2 describes one of these projects.

Nevertheless, in many cities small incinerators are used for burning bio-medical and

hazardous waste.

2.7.1.2 RDF plants in India RDF plants are in the initial stage of development in India. There are numbers of projects that

are operating all over India, more or less successful. The two projects described in box 3 are

examples of plants that have been proven successful and have generated electricity to the grid.

Box 2 Mass burning plant in Timarpur, New Delhi The first large scale incineration plant in India was commissioned at Timarpur, New Delhi

in 1987 by MNES, with the support of the Danish Firm Vølund Miljøteknik A/S. It cost

about Rs. 250 million ($5.2 million) and was projected to produce 3.7 MW electricity. It

was designed to process MSW that had an average heating value of 1.7 MWh/ton (1462

kcal/kg) and an approximate moisture content of 15 percent. [11] After 6 months the plant

was out of operation and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi had to close down the plant.

The main reason for the poor performance of the plant was a mismatch of the plant design

and the waste processed. [31]

44

2.7.2 Pyrolysis and gasification

Pyrolysis and gasification are similar to combustion in that manner that they are thermal

processes that use high temperature to break down the waste. The main difference from

combustion is that they use less oxygen. Pyrolysis degrades waste in the absence of air while

gasification uses some oxygen, but not enough to start the combustion. Gasification refers to

the production of gaseous components, whereas pyrolysis produces liquid residues and

charcoal. The syngas generated from the gasification process mostly consists of carbon

monoxide and hydrogen and could be used in gas turbines to produce electricity. Today,

energy production from gasification of MSW is in the development stage and it has not yet

been proven viable on a commercial scale. [33]

2.7.2.1 Pyrolysis and gasification plants in India There are currently no commercial pyrolysis and gasification plants for treating MSW in

India. [9] However, there exist gasifiers for biomass applications such as agricultural waste,

sawmill dust and forest waste. [31]

2.7.3 Sanitary landfill with energy recovery

There are four basic conditions that need to be fulfilled in order for a landfill site to be called

a sanitary landfill:

Box 3 RDF plants in Hyderabad and Vijayawada

Hyderabad

A 6 MW power plant was set up in Hydrerabad in November 2003, based on combustion

of RDF. The project was performed by SELCO International Ltd, Hyderabad and financed

by soft loans from the Technology Development Board (TDB), the Department of Science

and Technologies (DST) and the Indian Renewable Energy development Agency

(IREDA). The plant cost about Rs. 400 million ($8.3 million) and is based on indigenous

technology.

The MSW is firstly converted into fluff or pellets of RDF and then combusted in a boiler.

The heating value of the RDF is around 3.5-4.1 MWh/ton (3010-3526 kcal/kg). The steam

generated in the boiler is used to run a steam turbine and generate electricity. From

November 2003 till January 2005 the plant had generated 35 GWh of electricity. [32]

Vijayawada

In Vijayawada a 6 MW power project was commissioned in December 2003, based on

combustion of RDF. It was performed by Shiram Energy Systems, Hyderabad and

financed with soft loans from TDB and IREDA. The cost for the project was about Rs. 450

million ($9.4 million).

A total amount of 500 tons of MSW is being collected from the urban areas of Vijayawada

and Guntur every day. The MSW is firstly transported to various sites where the waste is

processed and converted into fluff of RDF and thereafter transported to the plant site where

the electricity generation takes place. The plant is operating at full capacity and had

generated 28 GWh of electricity from the day it was commission until January 2005. [32]

45

The landfill site should either be located on land which naturally contains leachate

security, or the site should have additional lining materials to prevent leachate to reach

the ground water and surrounding soil. Leachate collection and treatment is a basic

requirement.

The design of the landfill should be developed from geological and hydro geological

investigations made by engineers.

Trained staff should be based at the landfill for regular maintenance of the plant and

supervision.

The waste should be spread in layers and compacted. [34]

The degradation of organic waste results in production of landfill gas, which has a methane

content of 25-55 percent. The gas can be collected and used for energy recovery. [35]

2.7.3.1 Sanitary landfills with energy recovery in India There was not a single sanitary landfill site in India, until just recently. All cities in India

disposed their waste unscientifically in low-lying areas without pollution prevention measures

taken. Along with the Municipal Solid Waste (M&H) Rules, 2000, the local bodies started to

more actively take measures towards the treatments of MSW. Today there are landfill sites in

Surat, Pune, Puttur and Karwar and some more sites are under construction. [9]

There are currently no projects in India that recover energy from the landfill gas captured.

However, pre-feasibility studies and/or pump tests have been commissioned on dumpsites in

Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Pune which speaks for the realisation of landfill

gas-to-energy projects in the near future. [10]

2.7.4 Anaerobic biomethanation

Anaerobic digestion is a biological process where organic material is decomposed by

microorganisms under anaerobic condition. The result is generation of biogas, which consists

of 55-60 percent methane. The process is similar to the decomposition taking place in

landfills, yet more advantageous since it has a more efficient methane formation. One ton of

anaerobic digested MSW can produce 2-4 times more methane in three weeks than one ton of

landfilled MSW in 6-7 years. The waste from the biomethanation process can be used as

compost for soil conditioning. [31] The biogas can be used for energy production or

alternatively engine fuel.

2.7.4.1 Biomethanation plants in India Biomethanation is a relatively well-established technology for treatment of agricultural waste

and sewage sludge in India. Even though the application for the organic fraction of MSW is

less common, there exist smaller projects in the country for this purpose. [9]

Biomethanation on a small scale is a proven technology in Lucknow and in other cities in

India. In these cities, selected organic waste from canteens, vegetable markets etc, is used.

Box 4 gives more information about the plant in Lucknow. [9]

46

2.7.5 MSW to products

By segregating, processing and recycling the MSW, the amount of waste that needs to be

managed decreases. It is an energy conserving process, since recycling of material replaces

the virgin material needed for the manufacturing of new products.

The segregation can be done manually in the households or mechanically in processing plants.

In many developed countries it is common for each household to segregate the MSW

manually in different bins. The separated fractions are then transported to industries for

processing and recycling. In developing countries manual segregation has proven to be

difficult due to lack of infrastructure. [128] An alternative method is mechanical segregation

in processing plants. Besides from recyclables such as plastic, metal and paper that can be

segregated manually, the plant enables mechanical segregation of inert material, organic and

burnable fraction. Further processing of these fractions could give bricks, compost and RDF

respectively, which can be sold on the open market. [37]

During the last years, numbers of processing plants have been set up in India that manually

and mechanically segregates the MSW. The main incentives for these plants have been the

income possibilities from selling recyclables, compost and bricks as well as selling RDF or

selling the electricity generated from combusting RDF. Since these processing plants have

numbers of environmental benefits, there are possibilities of getting subsidies from the

government and income through CDM (see appendix 9 and section 4.2.1.3), which gives these

project stronger financial viability.

2.7.5.1 Bricks The inert material of the MSW can be recycled and used for manufacturing of bricks. These

bricks are not as robust as cement bricks, which make them less suitable for quality

construction work. Yet, they are interesting for less sensitive construction work such as

sidewalks. [123]

Box 4 Biomethanation plant in Lucknow

A 5 MW MSW-based power project was established at Lucknow in December 2003, based

on high-rate biomethanation technology. It was executed by Asia Bio-energy Ltd, Chennai

on BOOM (Build, Own, Operate and Maintenance) basis. The technology is developed

and commercialized by Environment Technology (ENTEC), Austria and the project cost

was about Rs. 740 million ($15 million). [32]

The plant is designed to take care of about 500-600 tons of MSW every day from Lucknow

city. This amount of MSW is converted into 115 tons of dry volatile solids, which produce

about 50 000 m3 of biogas and 75 tons of organic fertilizer. The biogas generated is used

for electricity production to the grid. Even though the plant is dimensioned for 5 MW

electric power, it has only reached a maximum limit of 1 MW since it was commissioned.

The main problem achieving its designed capacity has been the difficulties of getting

segregated and source collected biodegradable MSW to the plant. [32]

47

2.7.5.2 Compost Aerobic composting is the decomposition of organic material by microorganisms to produce

humus-like material called compost. It is suitable for the organic fraction of the MSW and

agricultural waste such as garden waste, waste from slaughter houses and dairy waste. The

compost is most commonly used as soil conditioning.

There are different types of composting technologies, windrow composting and vermi

composting being two common methods:

Windrow composting is a method where the waste is piled in elongated rows to allow

diffusion of oxygen and retention of heat. The piles are regularly turned to increase the

porosity and facilitate the diffusion of air. It is suitable for large-scale applications.

[38]

Vermi composting is a process where the organic fraction is converted to compost

through the action of worms. This method is especially suitable in smaller towns since

it is easy to operate and the technology required is rather simple. [9]

Farmers in India have been using composting for many years to process agricultural waste

and cow dung, for the purpose of soil conditioner improvement. The application for MSW has

been proven successful and demonstrated in numbers of cities in India. Windrow composting

has been found most relevant for large-scale applications and vermi composting more relevant

in smaller scale. [9] 106 small scale composting units have been introduced in Chennai on

ward level. [64]

2.7.5.3 RDF As described earlier in the text, RDF is processed from the burnable fraction of the MSW.

The RDF can be chopped to a fluffy fraction called RDF-fluff or it can be further processed to

pellets, which can be sold on the open market or used directly. [37]

2.7.5.4 The processing plant in Ichalkaranji An example of a processing plant in India is the one that the company Hydroair Tectonics Ltd

from Mumbai, has set up in Ichalkaranji. The 300 tons of MSW per day that arrives to the

plant is segregated into recyclables, inert material, burnable waste and organic waste. The

recyclables are sold directly to scrap dealers for re-sale value while the other fractions are

processed further to bricks, RDF-fluff and compost respectively. At present there is no

electricity production from the RDF-fluff at the plant-site, instead the fluff is sold to industries

as a substitute for coal. [123]

48

49

3 Future MSW-to-energy in Chennai The problems that Chennai Corporation has been facing during the last years regarding solid

waste management and electricity production have become more manifest today than ever.

The two dumpsites in Chennai, Kodungaiyur and Perungudi, are overfilled with waste and the

residents in Tamil Nadu are getting tired of planning their daily routines after the announced

and unannounced power cuts. This, together with stricter regulation from the government has

made Chennai Corporation more actively work towards changing the situation.

This chapter will describe future MSW management in Chennai. In the sections where the

source is not given, the facts are based on Hydroair Tectonics internal documents. [37]

3.1 Hydroair Tectonics

Recently, the company Hydroair Tectonics Ltd from Mumbai has signed a contract with

Chennai Corporation to take care of the waste going to Perungudi dumpsite. An area of 30

acres is provided by the CoC at Perungudi dumping ground. In return the company needs to

pay a royalty fee to the CoC of Rs. 15/ton ($0.31/ton) of MSW.

3.1.1 The processing plant

The company will set up an integrated MSW treatment plant at Perungudi dumping ground in

Chennai, which is going to process 1400 tons of MSW every day. It is going to be two

segregation units, each processing 700 tons of MSW per day. M/S Shiram Energy Systems

Ltd is an associate for this project. They have implemented the 6 MW processing plant in

Hyderabad which has been operating successfully since 2003 (see box 3 section 2.7.1.2).

The MSW will be segregated into the following fractions: recyclables, inert material,

compostable fractions and burnable waste. The segregation is made both manually and

mechanically. The incoming waste is initially weighted on a weight bridge, tipped on a

tipping ground and then processed according to figure 19.

50

*TPD=tons per day

**Here it is not sure whether this is the natural moisture in the waste or if this is moisture in excess of the natural

moisture

Figure 19 Estimated flowchart of the processing of waste at Perungudi dumpsite in Chennai. [37]

The compostable and inert components are segregated and processed to compost and bricks

respectively. The burnable material is separated and chopped to Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF)

which can be used in a boiler to produce electricity. Most of the recyclable components will

be segregated and sold to scrap dealers, for resale value. Larger inert components and other

waste that is not suitable for recycling or biological processing will be put on a sanitary

landfill. More than one third of the waste received at the plant consists of moisture. Leachate

water will be collected and processed in a treatment plant.

3.1.1.1 Compliance with the Municipal Solid Waste (M&H) Rules, 2000 The technology used will meet the requirements of The Municipal Solid Waste (M&H) Rules

2000, in line with the following rules:

Biodegradable Waste will be processed by composting only.

Compost or any other end products will comply with standards as specified in

Schedule-IV of The Municipal Solid Waste (M&H) Rules, 2000.

Land filling shall be restricted to non-biodegradable, inert waste and other waste that

are not suitable either for recycling or for biological processing.

Waste Received

1400 TPD*

20%

Compost

280 TPD

5%

Recyclables

70 TPD

7 %

Bricks

98 TPD

8 %

MSW to SLF

112 TPD

35 %

Moisture**

Electricity

25%

RDF

350 TPD

51

3.1.2 MSW to products

A large part of the financial income of the plant will be revenues from selling the products

generated from the segregation process. The products are recyclables, compost, RDF and

bricks. If Hydroair Tectonics builds a unit for burning RDF with energy recovery in the

future, the primary product will be electricity.

The following text will give a short description of the manufacturing process of the products

and the segregation process, based on facts from the existing plant in Ichalkaranji.

3.1.2.1 Compost 1. When the large stone blocks and recyclables have been sorted out manually from the

waste at the tipping ground, the segregation of the compostable fraction starts. The

MSW is fed into a drum

machine with holes

measuring 80 mm in

diameter. The compostable

fraction, mixed with the

inert material, passes

through the holes. The

remaining waste makes up

the burnable fraction,

which is going to be

processed to RDF. The

segregation unit is shown

in figure 20.

The compostable fraction

mixed with inert material

is used for aerobic

composting in windrows.

The waste is processed

for 35 days with regular

stir and mixing with bio-

culture, which accelerates

the degradation, as seen in

figure 21.

2. The processed waste is passed on to the second mechanical segregation step, which is

a drum machine with holes measuring 20 mm in diameter. The larger fractions of inert

material will be separated and sent to a sanitary landfill or to a stone crusher.

3. The remaining waste will continue to the next segregation step, which is based on

gravity separation. Air is added from below and the inert fraction with higher density

is separated from the compostable fraction.

Figure 20 Segregation unit for separation of the organic and

inert components. [37]

Figure 21 Bioculture is sprayed on the windrows. [37]

52

4. The final segregation step, before the

compostable fraction can be used as

compost, is the magnetic separator which

separates small components of metals from

the organic fraction.

5. The compost is packed in plastic bags, as

illustrated in figure 22, and sold to farmers

as soil conditioner or organic fertiliser.

In Schedule-IV of The Municipal Solid Waste

(M&H) Rules, 2000 there are standards specified

for the maximum amount of heavy metals that is

allowed in compost for the purpose of using it as fertilizer. There are also standards for pH

value and C:N ratio. A sample taken on the 6th

of June 2008 from the compost produced at

Hydroair Tectonics’ segregation plant in Ichalkaranji shows that the standard values were not

exceeded. The values can be seen in table 10.

Table 10 Standard values of compost in India and specific values from the compost produced in

Ichalkaranji. [37]

Physical characteristics Standard Ichalkaranji

CC :: NN rraattiioo 2200 –– 4400 27.35

ppHH 55..55 –– 88..55 6.54

Heavy metals Should not exceed

(mg/kg) mg/kg

AArrsseenniicc 1100 BDL

CCaaddmmiiuumm 55 0.22

CChhrroommiiuumm 5500 0.19

CCooppppeerr 330000 90

LLeeaadd 110000 BDL

MMeerrccuurryy 00..1155 BDL

NNiicckkeell 5500 BDL

ZZiinncc 11000000 212

*BDL=Below Detectable Level

3.1.2.2 RDF The larger fractions of MSW, which are separated in the first segregation step, consist of

larger stone blocks and burnable waste such as paper, plastic, textiles, coconut shells, rubber

etc. The large inert fractions and the recyclable plastic and metals are sorted out manually

and the remaining burnable waste is passed on to a mechanical separation unit. Air is added

from below and the heavy non-combustible material, such as glass and inert material are

separated from the light combustible fractions. Finally, the combustible material is

mechanically crushed and chopped into a small fluffy fraction. The RDF processing

machinery is illustrated in figure 23.

Figure 22 The compost ready to be sold to

farmers. [65]

53

Figure 23 The RDF processing machinery. [37]

The result is called RDF fluff and can be

used as fuel in a boiler for electricity

generation. Alternatively it can be sold to

energy demanding industries as a

substitute for coal.

For the purpose of storing and

transportation, the RDF fluff can be

bailed as seen in figure 24, or processed

further to briquettes or pellets. If it is

going to be sold directly to the market

further processing of RDF fluff is

preferable.

In table 11 the range of specific characteristics of RDF fluff is shown.

Table 11 Specific characteristics of RDF fluff. [37]

Characteristics Range [%]

Moisture 10 - 30

Ash Content 20 - 30

Volatile Matter 50 - 65

Fixed Carbon 12 - 15

Mineral matter 20 - 30

Carbon 20 - 30

Hydrogen 3 - 5

Nitrogen 1 - 1.5

Sulphur 0.2 - 0.3

Oxygen 20 - 25

From the above characteristics of RDF fluff, the heating value can be calculated with

Dulong’s formula, see box 1 section 2.5.3. [100] The result gives a higher heating value of

2.2-3.7 MWh/ton (1900-3200 kcal/kg), as seen in table 12.

Figure 24 Bailed RDF fluff. [37]

54

Table 12 The higher and lower heating value for RDF. [37]

RDF LHV (Hi) HHV (Hs)

MWh/ton kcal/kg MWh/ton kcal/kg

Lower limit 2.0 1684 2.2 1905

Higher limit 3.1 2705 3.7 3152

When RDF fluff is processed further to pellets the characteristics change, as illustrated in

table 13.

Table 13 Characteristics of RDF fluff and pellets. [37]

Product Fluff Pellets

Shape Irregular Cylindrical

Size 25 x 25mm to 150 x 150mm 8 mm to 25 mm in diameter

Bulk density 0.02-0.03 MT/m3 0.6 to 0.7 MT/m3

Hydroair Tectonics is considering building a plant for burning RDF fluff with the purpose of

generating electricity. However, this plant will not be built in the initial stage, but after some

years when the segregation plant has been proven viable. In the initial state the RDF

generated from the segregation plant is going to be sold to energy demanding industries as a

substitute for coal.

3.1.2.3 Eco bricks The inert fraction is separated from the compostable fraction through the different steps

described above. Ash which is received from industries to the dumpsite is mixed with inert

particles larger than 4 mm, but

smaller than 20 mm in diameter.

The ash mixture is added to

another mixture consisting of

inert particles smaller than 4 mm

in diameter, cement and water.

Everything is blended together

and processed mechanically to

bricks. Figure 25 illustrates the

process of making bricks. These

bricks are not appropriate for the

construction of houses but they

are a good alternative for road

work such as construction of

sidewalks.

3.1.2.4 Recyclable material The recyclable material is mostly segregated manually initially when the MSW arrives to the

plant. Furthermore it is separated mechanically through magnetic separators. Around 5

percent of the incoming MSW is recyclable material, which will be sold to scrap dealers for a

resale value.

Figure 25 The mechanical processing of bricks. [37]

55

3.1.3 Sanitary landfill

A sanitary landfill will be made at the dumpsite. The waste going to the landfill is restricted

to certain inert material and other unusable waste and will stand for less than 8 percent of the

incoming waste. Compactors will be used to arrange the waste in thin layers and to achieve

high density of the waste. To minimize the run off to the ground water, the sanitary landfill

will have a sealing system consisting of sheets made of plastic material and soil layer with

low permeability. The site will be provided with a leachate collection and removal system,

which will be explained in the next section. Sand, silt and soil, which are separated during the

segregation steps, are going to be used as earth cover to prevent infiltration. A cover of 10 cm

is provided daily and an intermediate cover of 40-64 cm during monsoon.

3.1.4 Leachate treatment

A large part of the waste is moisture, which will result in runoff from the plant, in the form of

leachate water if it is not collected. The leachate from the project facility and sanitary landfill

site will be collected through a drainage layer, a perforated pipe collector system and a sump

collection area. It is carried to collection tanks and later on to a treatment plant. At the plant,

the leachate will be treated so that it can meet certain standards as specified in the Schedule-

IV of The Municipal Solid Waste (M&H) Rules, 2000. These are illustrated in table 14.

Table 14 Standard for leachate treatment. [37]

Parameter Standards

( Mode of Disposal )

IInnllaanndd

ssuurrffaaccee

wwaatteerr

PPuubblliicc

sseewweerrss LLaanndd

ddiissppoossaall

SSuussppeennddeedd ssoolliiddss,, mmgg//ll,, mmaaxx 110000 660000 --

DDiissssoollvveedd ssoolliiddss ((iinnoorrggaanniicc)) mmgg//ll,, mmaaxx.. 22110000 22110000 --

ppHH vvaalluuee 55..55 -- 99..00 55..55 -- 99..00 --

AAmmmmoonniiuumm nniittrrooggeenn ((aass NN)),, mmgg//ll,, mmaaxx.. 5500 5500 --

TToottaall nniittrrooggeenn ((aass NN)),, mmgg//ll,, mmaaxx.. 110000 -- --

BBiioocchheemmiiccaall ooxxyyggeenn ddeemmaanndd (( 33 ddaayyss

aatt 2277 ddeegg CC)) mmaaxx..((mmgg//ll)) 3300 335500 110000

CChheemmiiccaall ooxxyyggeenn ddeemmaanndd,, mmgg//ll,, mmaaxx.. 225500 -- --

AArrsseenniicc ((aass AAss)),, mmgg//ll,, mmaaxx 00..22 00..22 00..22

MMeerrccuurryy ((aass HHgg)),, mmgg//ll,, mmaaxx 00..0011 00..0011 --

LLeeaadd ((aass PPbb)),, mmgg//ll,, mmaaxx 00..11 11..00 --

CCaaddmmiiuumm ((aass CCdd)),, mmgg//ll,, mmaaxx 22..00 11..00 --

56

57

4 Setting up a waste-to-energy plant During the last decade major reforms have been made in the field of investment in India,

which have improved the investment climate for both domestic and foreign companies. [94]

When a foreign company wants to set up a waste-to-energy facility in India there are certain

regulations that need to be considered before setting up the plant. There are also financial and

infrastructural support systems, which could be good to have in mind when calculating the

budget for the project. This chapter will describe the main regulation and support systems in

India.

4.1 Regulations

The company needs to get clearances from the federal government and from specific state

authorities before starting the business in India. These regulations are specified further in

appendix 7. The environmental clearance is one of the most important regulations, when

plants that will pollute toxic gases are going to be implemented. It is the State Pollution

Control Board that will give these clearances, by following the national emission standards.

[140]

4.1.1 Emission standards

Each country has specific national standards for how much pollutants are allowed from a

waste incineration plant. The emission standards for waste incineration in India are specified

in table 15. These values are compared to the corresponding values for Sweden, which is an

industrial country that has practiced MSW incineration for many years. Both the Swedish and

the Indian values refer to an oxygen concentration of 11 percent in the flue gases. The Indian

values are specified for hazardous waste. Nevertheless, according to Mr S.Balaji TNPCB,

incineration of MSW will fall under this category as well. The Swedish values are for waste

incineration in general.

58

Table 15 The emissions standards for waste incineration in India and Sweden. [107] [108]

PARAMETER

EMISSION STANDARDS

SAMPLING DURATION India Sweden

(A*) (B*)

Particulates [mg/m3] 50 30 10 30 Minutes

HCl [mg/m3] 50 60 10 30 Minutes

SO2 [mg/m3] 200 200 50 30 Minutes

CO [mg/m3] 100 100 150** 30 Minutes/ **10 Minutes

50 50 Standard refers to daily average value

Total Organic Carbon [mg/m3] 20 20 10 30 Minutes

HF [mg/m3] 4 4 2 30 Minutes

NOX (NO and NO2 expressed as NO2 ) [mg/m3]

400 400 200 30 Minutes

Total dioxins and furans [ng/m3] 0.1 0.1 6-8 hours sampling.

Cd + Th + their compounds [mg/m3]

0.05 0.05 Sampling time anywhere between 30 minutes and 8 hours.

Hg and its compounds [mg/m3] 0.05 0.05 Sampling time anywhere between 30 minutes and 8 hours.

Sb + As + Pb + Cr + Co + Cu + Mn + Ni + V + their compounds [mg/m3]

0.5 0.5 Sampling time anywhere between 30 minutes and 8 hours.

* The company can choose between two cases, A or B. The 30 minutes sampling values during one year, that are

below the standard value, should be 100 % in case A and 97 % in case B.

** For CO there is an alternative that 95 % (instead of 97 %) of the 10 minutes sampling values during one year

should be below the standard value.

4.2 Funding for MSW-to-energy projects

Except from revenues that MSW-to-energy projects can get from selling energy and

segregating products generated from the process, a company that sets up an MSW-to-energy

plant could also get financial and infrastructural support from the federal and state

government. There is also a possibility to get revenues through CDM.

4.2.1 Support systems

The company can get support from the federal and state government to start the business in

the form of subsidies and infrastructural support.

59

4.2.1.1 Subsidies If a company produces energy from renewable energy sources there are subsidies that they

can apply for. The company can apply for subsidies from the following agencies:

Federal level: Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA)

State level: Tamilnadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA)

Both IREDA and TEDA are under the administrative control of the Ministry of New and

Renewable Energy (MNRE). [90] The company needs to be inspected by TEDA before the

application can be approved and sent to MNRE. [130]

For projects regarding energy recovery from MSW, there are possibilities to get financial

assistance of Rs. 20 million ($0.4 million), per MW subject to ceiling of 20 percent of project

cost and Rs. 100 millions per project ($2 million), whichever is less. [50]

4.2.1.2 Infrastructural support Every state provides infrastructural support for the companies that are about to be established

in the state.

The infrastructural support, which is provided by the state government and paid by the

company, is in the form of land, power, water and roads.

Guidance bureau provides help with all infrastructural support except for land. For the land

requirements the company needs to contact State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil

Nadu (SIPCOT). The price for land varies depending on where the waste-to-energy plant is

going to be built. The prices are generally higher in the central and the southern part of

Chennai. If the area needed for the plant is 2 ha, the estimated price for land to build a waste-

to-energy plant is Rs. 11 250 ($230) (see box 5). [138] However, if the CoC consider the area

is required for a good cause they could even give the land to the company for free. [128]

𝑃 = (𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑 ∙ 𝐴) + 𝑃𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 + 𝐶

Box 5 Estimation of the price for land to build a waste-to-energy plant

Where:

P Price for the land needed for the waste-to-energy plant [Rs.]

Pland Average price for land in Chennai [Rs./ha]

Pprocess Processing charge [Rs.]

C Cost for application [Rs.]

A Area needed for plant [ha]

Assumptions: [138]

Pland Rs. 5000/ha

Pprocess Rs. 1000

C Rs. 250

A 2 ha

Result:

The calculated price for the land needed for the waste-to-energy plant is Rs. 11 250

($230).

60

4.2.1.3 CDM The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol and

the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). CDM allows

developed countries to reduce greenhouse gases in developing countries to be able to achieve

their emission reduction targets. [91] In appendix 9, CDM is described more thoroughly.

An MSW-to-energy project that treats waste, which otherwise would be sent to a landfill,

would prevent methane emissions to the atmosphere. Since methane is a 21 times more

aggressive green house gas than carbon dioxide, this project would reduce the carbon dioxide

emissions and thereby account for as a CDM project. A successfully implemented CDM

project generates carbon credits, Certified Emission Reductions (CERs), to the project owner.

Each CER is equivalent to one ton reduced carbon dioxide. The CERs can be used by the

investor to manage the reduction target within the Kyoto protocol or be sold on the

International Emission Trading (IET) market to generate income. [92] The price for a CER

was 11-12 EUR as on the first month of 2009. [110]

The baseline is the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per produced unit energy and is often

described in kg CO2/MWh. The project’s baseline is compared to the baseline estimated for

the area where the project is going to be set up.

The baseline in Tamil Nadu, including import and export was 0.85 kg CO2/MWh in 2008. If a

project in Chennai should be classified as a CDM project, the project’s baseline has to be less

than 0.85 kg CO2/MWh. The difference between the Tamil Nadu baseline and the project’s

baseline corresponds to the CERs that can be issued. [139]

61

5 The case for MSW incineration in Chennai As mentioned previously, Hydroair Tectonics has recently signed a contract with the CoC to

take care of the waste at Perungudi dumpsite and it is a great chance that they will get a

similar contract at Kodungaiyur dumpsite. They are planning to process the waste and

produce RDF, which initially will be sold to energy demanding industries as a substitute for

coal. When the segregation plant has been proven financially viable Hydroair Tectonics is

discussing whether or not to build a plant for burning RDF fluff and generate electricity.

There are many possibilities to produce energy from incineration. This chapter will analyse

which method would be most suitable for Chennai. A case will be presented, in which the best

solution for MSW incineration with energy recovery in Chennai will be discussed and

analysed. Thereafter the technical and financial viability will be analysed for this specific

case.

5.1 The case study

The case for MSW incineration with energy recovery in Chennai is presented by answering

the following questions.

Should there be mass burning of MSW or only combustion of the burnable fraction of

the MSW (RDF)?

Who should process the waste and which methods should be used?

Where should the plant be situated?

Should there be co-incineration with another fuel? In that case, which fuel is suitable

for co-incineration?

Which technology should be used for combustion and what type of flue gas treatment

should be used?

Which type of energy should be recovered?

5.1.1 Should there be mass burning of MSW or only combustion of the burnable fraction of the MSW (the RDF)?

Mass burning of MSW is a common method in developed countries to reduce the volume of

MSW and at the same time generate energy. Box 6 illustrates the strengths and weaknesses

with mass burning of waste. [118]

62

In developing countries mass burning of waste is not common. However, there exist RDF

plants that generate energy from combusting the burnable fraction of the MSW. Depending on

the MSW characteristics and system for MSW management in the country different methods

are suitable. Whether mass burning of MSW or combustion of RDF is most suitable for the

conditions in Chennai will be discussed below in respect of public opinion, waste

characteristics, infrastructure and possibilities for combined recycling activities. In the end of

the section, a comparison is made between the conditions in Sweden, to illustrate why one

method could be suitable in one country and not in another.

5.1.1.1 Public opinion Many citizens and decision makers in Chennai do not consider incineration of MSW as an

option for energy recovery. Firstly they believe waste incineration is bad for the environment

and human health. Since open burning along roadsides and at dumpsites have been common

treatments for MSW in the past, the citizens associate incineration with toxic pollution.

Secondly, the memory of failed waste incineration projects in India has made the people

doubt that the waste characteristic in India is suitable for combustion. Even though

combustion of RDF is a type of waste incineration, it is considered more acceptable by the

public than direct incineration of MSW. RDF is often referred to as “green coal” by decision

makers. The CoC opposes direct incineration, but they have accepted Hydroair Tectonics

future plans to build a unit for burning RDF at Perungudi dumpsite. [136] Therefore, setting

up an incineration plant for burning RDF would probably be less problematic than setting up a

plant for mass burning of MSW.

5.1.1.2 Waste characteristics Composition: The composition of MSW in India is not optimal for combustion, due to high

content of inert and compostable material and high moisture content. Furthermore, the MSW

contain some hazardous waste, because of insufficient segregation of MSW at source.

Segregation of hazardous waste is very important before burning MSW in order to minimize

toxic pollution. The composition of RDF in India is more suitable for combustion. Since RDF

Box 6 Strengths and weaknesses with mass burning of MSW

+ No pre-treatment is required

Reduces the volume of waste by ~ 90%

Proven and commercially available technology in developed countries

- High capital costs. To cover the costs it is advantageous if the plant has:

1. high utilization factor

2. tipping fee for MSW

3. production of another energy source except from electricity, such as heat, cold

and/or process steam.

Negative public perception in certain countries

The characteristics of the MSW need to be suitable for incineration

Produces toxic residues, though bottom ash can be recycled

Minimum recovery of material, except for ferrous materials

63

contains less inert material it will cause less operational problems during the combustion

process. RDF also contains less sulphur and chlorine than MSW, which lowers the risk for

corrosion problems in the boiler. [98] The lower content of inert and organic material will

also give the RDF lower moisture content, which is more beneficial for incineration.

Heating value: The lower heating value of a fuel should preferably be about 3 MWh/ton

(2580 kcal/kg), in order to operate an incineration plant without additional fuel. [143] The

average lower and higher heating values of MSW and RDF in Chennai, which also were

presented earlier in the study, is summarized in table 16.

Table 16 The average lower heating value of MSW and RDF in Chennai. [100]

Waste type LHV [MWh/ton] HHV [kcal/kg]

MSW 1.6 1376

RDF 2.6 2236

The heating value of MSW or RDF could be increased by reducing the moisture content. This

could be done by air drying during the dry seasons. During the wet seasons this could be done

by using hot flue gases from the combustion process. Another pre-treatment method is to mix

the MSW or RDF with another fuel with a higher heating value. Since the lower heating value

of MSW in India only is 1.6 MWh/ton, compared to 2.6 MWh/ton for RDF, more pre-

treatment is needed for MSW to sustain the combustion. Nevertheless, incineration of RDF

could be sufficient in Chennai without pre-treatment, if the boiler used for incineration allows

a slightly lower heating value.

Uncertainties in data: Since the climate in Chennai varies from dry and hot weather to

monsoon climate, there will be great variations in moisture content of the waste during the

year which will affect the heating value. Different studies show great variations in

characteristics and composition of MSW in India, depending on the season and the area where

the study was performed. This complicates the process of designing an incineration plant. A

misjudgement in design could cause a project failure, which was what happened 1987 when

the Danish Firm Vølund Miljøteknik set up a plant for mass burning of MSW in Delhi. The

main reason for the failure of this plant was that the MSW was very different in composition,

moisture and energy content than the waste that was initially tested. It had a higher percentage

of inert material in the form of sand, silt, rock and ashes. The energy content was only about

50 percent of the designed value which could not sustain combustion. Large quantities of

auxiliary fuel were needed as well as combustion air. This put strain on the burner and the air

supply arrangements and the high content of inert material caused problems in the ash

handling systems. [11]

5.1.1.3 Infrastructure Since the capital cost for a mass burning plant with good flue gas treatment is high, the plant

needs to get revenues in order to cover the cost. The revenues could for example come from

selling electricity, process steam, district heating and cooling and/or from receiving a tipping

fee from those dumping the waste at the plant. Considering the electricity deficit in Chennai,

the main product from the plant will be electricity. Process steam could be sold to a nearby

industry; however, the feasibility for this purpose needs to be investigated. Because of the

warm climate, there is no need for district heating in Chennai. There is a need for district

cooling, although there is no infrastructure in Chennai today for that. Since there is no fee for

dumping MSW at the dumpsite in Chennai, there is no possibility for receiving a tipping fee

64

when dumping MSW at the plant. Regarding RDF, the investment cost for building a

combustion unit will be lower (see section 5.1.5.1).

5.1.1.4 Combined recycling activities According to the hierarchy of waste management, which is described in section 2.3.1.4, waste

minimization, recycling and biological processing should be prioritized before thermal

processing. Production of RDF is combined with recycling activities and biological

processing, which gives other products that can be sold to the market such as recyclables,

bricks and compost. For a developing country like India, with a lack of an organized system

for segregation of MSW at source, producing RDF would give better use of resources. Better

use of resources gains both the environment and the economy. The financial incentives, in the

form of revenues from selling products generated from the process, are strong in developing

countries. Besides from selling waste products, there is also the possibility of getting revenues

through CDM. Since the processing of MSW decreases the waste going to the dumpsite,

methane emissions to the air will be prevented. The CO2-eqs that are prevented correspond to

the CERs that the company is eligible for. [92]

5.1.1.5 Developed vs. developing countries Since mass burning of MSW has been proven both technically and financially viable in

developed countries, many western companies want to expand their business and apply the

same technology in India. Somehow, all projects regarding mass burning of MSW that have

been implemented in India the past years have failed. (see section 2.7.1.1). Table 17

summarizes the conditions in Chennai together with a comparison of the conditions in a

developing country (Sweden). See appendix 11 for further explanations of the different

conditions in Sweden.

Table 17 The conditions for mass burning of MSW in Chennai compared to Sweden.

Parameter Chennai Sweden

Positive public perception of mass burning of MSW no yes

Segregation of MSW at source no yes

Efficient segregation of hazardous waste no yes

Suitable MSW characteristics for combustion no yes

~ Heating value MWh/ton (LHV) 1.6 3

Possibility of getting revenues from:

Tipping fee no yes

Selling electricity yes yes

Selling district heating no yes

Selling district cooling uncertain yes

Selling process steam uncertain yes

5.1.1.6 Conclusion The following arguments speak for the alternative that there should be combustion of RDF

and not mass burning of MSW in Chennai. Compared to MSW, RDF has

more positive public perception

more suitable characteristics for incineration

higher heating value

better possibility of material recovery

65

less content of hazardous waste

less investment cost when building a combustion plant.

Combustion of RDF

5.1.2 Who should process the waste and which methods should be used?

Considering that there should be combustion of RDF, a processing plant for producing RDF

needs to be built. Hydroair Tectonics has several years of experience of processing waste and

their concept has been proven viable, both financially and technically. [122] They have

recently signed a contract with the CoC to take care of the waste at Perungudi dumpsite and it

is a good chance that they will get a similar contract at Kodungaiyur dumpsite. In this case

study it is therefore assumed that this company build a processing plant at either one or both

of the dumpsites in Chennai in the nearest future.

Hydroair Tectonics has experience from producing bricks from the inert material, compost

from the organic material and RDF from the burnable material. Furthermore, they have

experience from separating the recyclable fraction (see chapter 3). This concept has been

proven successful, thus it is assumed that they will continue with the same concept. The RDF

should initially be sold to coal fired industries as a substitute for coal. Depending on the

financial and technical viability for building a combustion unit, the RDF should in the future

either continuously be sold to coal fired industries or combusted with energy recovery.

Because of the electricity deficit in Chennai, a future alternative for compost could instead be

to use the organic waste for electricity production in a biomethanation plant.

5.1.2.1 Conclusion Hydroair Tectonics should build a processing plant for MSW at either one or both of the

dumpsites in Chennai. In the initial stage they should segregate the inert, compostable and

burnable fraction and produce bricks, compost and RDF, respectively. The recyclables should

be separated. RDF should be sold to coal fired industries or burnt with energy recovery.

Biomethanation of the organic waste could be a solution for the future.

Hydroair Tectonics – The method that they should use is the

same as described in chapter 3

5.1.3 Where should the plant be situated?

There are several factors that need to be considered when deciding the location of the plant,

such as price, transportation and characteristics of the building ground.

The price for land differs greatly depending on the location and the building purpose of a new

establishment. If the CoC consider that the building will gain the society, they can even give

the land for free. [128] Taking into consideration that the plant for burning RDF will provide

the city with electricity, there is a great chance that the land will be given by the CoC for free.

[135]

66

However, because of the land deficit in Chennai, the best solution would be to build the plant

on the existing dumping ground, since this land area is not suitable for many other purposes.

Another advantage with building the plant on the dumping ground is that the existing

transportation routes for collecting and dumping the MSW do not need to change. The

problem though is that the two dumping grounds in Chennai are built on wetland, meaning

that these grounds are not suitable to build on. The processing plant for RDF will consist of

several small segregation units. Considering their light weight, they will not be a problem to

set up at the dumpsite. Whether the plant for burning RDF is suitable to build on the dumping

ground or not needs further investigations. If the plant, because of its heavier weight, has to be

placed elsewhere, the RDF could easily be transported. To minimize the transportation costs

the RDF-fluff could be processed further to briquettes or pellets. The plant in the case study

could be situated at either one of the two dumpsites in Chennai.

5.1.3.1 Conclusion The RDF plant should preferably be situated on the dumpsite or close to the dumping ground

to avoid unnecessary transportation and straining on the environment. Considering the

availability and price for land, the dumping ground is a good alternative.

The plant in the case study could be situated at either one of

the dumpsites in Chennai or close to them

5.1.4 Should there be co-incineration with another fuel? In that case, which fuel is suitable for co-incineration?

Considering the case of building a unit for burning RDF with energy recovery, the heating

value of RDF could be sufficient if the type of boiler used can handle a slightly lower heating

value. Yet, if suitable fuel is available, co-incineration is positive for increasing the heating

value and producing more energy.

Agricultural or industrial wastes are examples of fuel that could be suitable for co-incineration

with RDF. Alternatively, small amounts of coal could be added. The following text will

discuss the potential for these alternatives.

5.1.4.1 Agricultural waste In a study made by Anna University, the future potential in Tamil Nadu for using agricultural

waste for energy production was made. The result shows that the potential is low. Within the

ten zones in Chennai the potential is 0 MW, since there is no land for agricultural purposes

there. In the nearby districts Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur the potentials are 9.47 MW and

8.33 MW, respectively. On the other hand, there are already smaller agricultural waste-to-

energy projects planned here which results in a zero potential. [130]

67

5.1.4.2 Industrial waste To determine if a certain industrial waste is suitable for co-incineration with RDF there are

some issues that need to be considered:

If the difference in viscosity and density is too large between the RDF and the

industrial waste, this can result in thermal straining of the boiler.

The content of heavy metals and other hazardous waste should be limited.

The waste should not have high content of chlorine, since chlorine causes problems

with high temperature corrosion. [143]

Most of the industrial areas are situated outside the ten zones of Chennai. One of the largest

industrial areas is called Manali and is situated north of Chennai. Here there are numbers of

industries which produce waste that could be interesting for co-incineration with RDF.

5.1.4.3 Coal A large part of the electricity produced in Chennai comes from coal fired power stations. All

power stations in this area use sub-bituminous coal, with a heating value of about 5 MWh/ton

(4300 kcal/kg) As Chennai lies on the coast, there is a good possibility to import coal, which

can be mixed with MSW to increase the heating value. [137]

5.1.4.4 Conclusion Whether there should be co-incineration with another fuel or not depends on the allowed

heating value for the chosen boiler and on the price and supply of suitable fuel in the

surrounding areas.

Since there is no potential for using agricultural waste, it leaves the alternatives of using

industrial waste or coal. If a suitable industrial waste could be found, it would be the best

solution both environmentally and financially.

RDF is preferably co-incinerated with suitable industrial waste,

if it is available.

5.1.5 Which technology should be used for combustion and what type of flue gas treatment should be used?

There exist different technologies for waste combustion. In the following sections the best

alternatives regarding combustion technology and flue gas treatment for Chennai will be

discussed.

5.1.5.1 Combustion technology The two main technologies for burning waste are moving grate and fluidized bed. The

strength and weaknesses with these technologies are described in box 7. Other technologies

for waste incineration are described in appendix 12.

68

When the solution is to burn RDF, fluidized bed is a good choice of technology, which is

described in box 8. Except from environmental benefits, the fluidized bed has financial

advantages. When burning mixed MSW in a fluidized bed, the waste needs to undergo pre-

treatments to make it more homogenous. The pre-treatment facility is a large part of the

investment costs. Since RDF fluff is already homogenised, there is no need to have this

facility in this case, which makes it a cheaper choice than a moving grate. [144]

A large difference in operating a fluidized bed compared to a moving grate is that the

response from operational changes can be seen faster, which is an advantage. However,

operating a fluidized bed can be difficult for inexperienced technicians. According to Björn

Petterson at Händelöverket in Norrköping they had problems with sintering in their fluidized

bed during the first years due to inexperience, which was very costly. [126] To avoid these

problems knowledge transfer is important.

The fluidized bed should be bubbling and not circulating. The extra cyclone in the CFB

increases the investment costs, which makes it more profitable for larger applications. Since

the plant in Chennai will be relatively small it is therefore more motivated with a BFB. [150]

Box 7 Moving grate and fluidized bed - Strength and weakness

Moving grate

+ Can handle MSW without pre-treatment

Easy to operate

Proven and commercially available in developed countries

- High maintenance costs due to many moving parts

Minimum material recovery except for ferrous material

Slow response to operational changes

Fluidized bed

+ Can be used in combination with recycling operations [104]

High combustion efficiency [30]

Less ash because of the high combustion efficiency [30]

Reduced NOx emissions due to lower temperatures[30]

Low maintenance needed due to no moving parts [150]

Fast respons to operational changes [150]

- Require pre-treatment of the waste

High capital cost (The pre-treatment plant stands for a large part of the costs) [30]

High temperatures can cause problems with sintering [150]

69

5.1.5.2 Flue gas treatment When waste is burned in an incineration plant with good flue gas treatment, the pollution will

be much less compared to open burning, which is common in India today.

As specified in section 4.1.1, the emission standards for waste incineration in India are similar

to those in Sweden. In other words, if a plant for burning RDF is going to be built in India, it

will need the same flue gas treatment as a plant in Sweden.

One of the challenges to set up an RDF-boiler for energy generation in Chennai is for the

project to be profitable. Since flue gas treatment is a large part of the investment cost, it is

important to choose a system with low investment and operational costs. Another issue is that

the availability of water in many areas in India is limited, which speaks for a flue gas

treatment that does not need waste water treatment. A semi-dry system with low investment

cost could therefore be a suitable choice. An example of a semi-dry system is the NID-system,

which is explained more in box 9. The advantage of this system is that it is simple and

Box 8 Fluidized bed The fluidized bed (FB) consists of a chamber with a bed of inert material. The fuel is

distributed inside the bed and pre-heated with a gas or oil burner until it reaches the

ignition temperature. The bed mixture, which is supported by a plate, is fluidized by air or

other gas being blown through the plate. The combustion has no flames and temperature is

about 700-900 degrees Celsius. The flue gas carries particles out of the vertical chamber

into a cyclone, from where the inert bed material is carried back to the chamber again.

[35]

There are two types of fluidized bed combustor: bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) and

circulating fluidized bed (CFB) (see figure 26). The main difference is that the airflow is

higher in a CFB, allowing more particles to be carried over the vertical chamber. The

higher turbulence increases the contact area of the fuel particles and the combustion air.

The result is an increase in thermal efficiency to 90 percent compared to 89 percent with

the BFB and a decrease in emissions of CO and NOx. [30]

The extra cyclone, which is a part of the CFB, means higher investment costs. Therefore,

BFB is suitable for smaller applications of 1-50 MW plants while CFB is better for larger

applications of 10-200 MW. [97]

Figure 26 Bubling bluidized bed and circulating fluidized bed. [172]

70

efficient and it does not need any waste water treatment. Moreover it has low investment and

operational costs. [145]

Regarding NOx reduction, SCR is more efficient but since it is expensive, it is only motivated

if the requirement for NOx reduction is very high. [145] Considering that SNCR has been

sufficient to meet the standards for several plants in Sweden, SNCR should be sufficient for

this specific case in Chennai.

5.1.5.3. Conclusion The RDF should be incinerated in a bubbling fluidized bed and the flue gas treatment should

be semi-dry with low investment cost.

Bubbling fluidized bed and semi dry flue gas treatment.

5.1.6 Which type of energy should be recovered?

Considering the electricity deficit in Chennai, the plant should first of all generate electricity.

Though, it could be difficult to find profit in this type of project, if selling electricity is the

only income.

Box 9 The NID-system

The NID-system consists of a NID reactor, fabric filter, lime and activated carbon. The

layout can be seen in figure 27. In this system lime, active carbon and water are mixed to

slurry and added to the flue gases before the fabric filter through the NID-reactor. The

slurry will bind to the acid components and the dioxins, which later are removed in the

fabric filter. The slurry is then re-circulating to save chemicals. [145]

A NID-system can be provided by Alstom, which is an international provider of power

generation and rail infrastructure technology. [95] The price for a NID-system from Alstom

is about Rs. 300 million ($6 million). [154]

Figure 27 The NID-system. [170]

71

In Chennai it is common that certain industries use coal for the production of process steam,

which is used in their production. If an industry of this kind would be situated close to the

RDF plant, the steam generated from the plant could be delivered directly to the industry. This

would be a cheaper and a more environmental friendly alternative for the industry than using

coal. If the same industry also generates waste suitable for combustion it could be co-

incinerated with RDF. A co-operation between an industry and an energy producing company

is thereby a win-win situation.

Because of the warm weather in Chennai, district heating is not an alternative. On the other

hand district cooling could be an alternative. Yet, considering the large investment cost for

district cooling pipelines and the current infrastructure in Chennai today, this alternative

might be more suitable in a few years from now.

5.1.6.1 Conclusion In the initial stage electricity and/or steam should be generated. In the future, district cooling

could be a good alternative.

Electricity and/or steam

5.2 Presentation of the case

According to this study, the answers to the questions in the section above represent the best

solution for future MSW incineration in Chennai. The case can be summarized as follows:

It should be combustion of RDF.

Hydroair Tectonics should process the waste according to the methods described in

chapter 5.

The plant should be situated on or close to one of the dumpsites.

RDF could be combusted separately or co-incinerated with industrial waste or coal if

the heating value is not sufficient.

The RDF should be combusted in a bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) with semi dry flue

gas treatment.

Electricity and/or steam should be recovered.

5.2.1 Alternative case

An alternative to building an incineration plant with energy recovery is to sell the RDF

generated from the processing plant to coal firing industries as “green coal”. These industries

could use RDF as a substitute for coal in the existing coal boilers.

72

Processing plant Hydroair Tectonics will

produce bricks, compost

and RDF

5.2.2 Problem formulation and system boundaries

The next part of the case study will try to answer the question:

Should Hydroair Tectonics invest in a combustion unit burning RDF with recovery of

electricity and/or steam or should they sell their RDF to industries?

To be able to answer the question, the technical and financial viability for this specific case

will be analysed.

The technical and financial viability will be determined for two scenarios. In scenario 1, only

electricity is sold whereas in scenario 2, both electricity and steam is recovered. In scenario 2

it is assumed that a nearby industry buys the steam.

The result will be compared to the alternative case, which is that Hydroair Tectonics should

sell the RDF to coal fired industries. The case study with system boundaries is illustrated in

figure 28. As seen in the figure, the processing plant (that separates the waste fractions and

produces the RDF fluff) is not included in the case study.

Alternative case - sell

the RDF

If scenario 1 or 2 is a

bad investment, the

RDF should instead be

sold to industries

Combustion

Hydroair Tectonics will

invest in a combustion unit

for burning RDF with

energy recovery

Scenario 1:

Recovery of electricity

Scenario 2:

Recovery of electricity

and process steam

Figure 28 The flow chart and the system boundaries of the case study.

73

5.3 Technical viability

This section will analyze the technical viability of the project. To begin with, the technical

parameters will be specified and thereafter the potential power that could be extracted from

the plant will be determined.

5.3.1 Specification of technology and parameters

To be able to determine the potential power that could be extracted from the plant, the

following parameters must be specified:

Efficiency of boiler, turbine and generator [%]

Heating value of fuel [MWh/ton] (kcal/kg)

Flow rate of waste to the plant [kg/s]

Enthalpy of working medium at different stages in the steam power process [kJ/kg]

The following sections will determine these parameters for scenario 1 and scenario 2.

5.3.1.1 Efficiency of boiler, turbine and generator The efficiency of the boiler, turbine and

generator can vary slightly from different

manufacturers. Below are examples of

suitable technology for the plant in this

case study. Further information about

price estimations and other suitable

technologies can be seen in appendix 8.

When electricity and process steam are

required, a steam boiler is necessary. The

boiler efficiency can vary for different

boiler types. Figure 29 illustrates an

example of a BFB boiler type called

Ecofluid, which is manufactured by

AE&E Group. This company is an

international provider of systems for thermal power generation and environmental

technologies and has a manufacturing unit in Chennai, AE&E Chennai Works. [109] This

boiler can burn fuel with lower heating value down

to 2.2 MWh/ton (1892 kcal/kg) and the boiler

efficiency is about 89 percent. [144] Further details

about the boiler can be found in appendix 8.

The turbine and generator can be provided by

Alstom, which is a global provider of power

generation technology. Figure 30 illustrates a

turbine, though a larger one than this project will

require. An average turbine and generator from

Alstom have efficiencies of 85 and 98 percent,

respectively. [154]

Figure 29 Ecofluid bubbling fluidized bed with attaching

parts. [144]

Figure 30 Alstom turbine. [171]

74

5.3.1.2 Heating value

The heating value in scenarios 1 and 2 is assumed to be different, due to different conditions

in the scenarios.

Scenario 1: In scenario 1 there will only be production of electricity. RDF has an average

lower heating value of 2.6 MWh/ton (2236 kcal/kg) (see section 3.1.2.2). The BFB boiler in

appendix 8 can handle waste with a lower heating value down to 2.2 MWh/ton (1892

kcal/kg), which indicates that combusting RDF should be sufficient most of the time without

auxiliary fuel. Therefore it is assumed in this scenario that RDF will be burnt without

additional fuel, which means that the lower heating value of the fuel will remain at 2.6

MWh/ton (2236 kcal/kg).

Scenario 2: In scenario 2 it is assumed that there will be production of process steam, which

will be delivered to a nearby industry. If the same industry produces waste with a heating

value higher than the heating value for RDF, this waste could be co-incinerated with RDF.

Thereby the energy content of the fuel mix will be higher and the potential generated energy

will increase.

An example of an industry, that could be interested in buying steam generated from an MSW-

to-energy plant and also produces suitable waste for co-incineration, is Orchid Chemicals &

Pharmaceuticals Ltd, situated in Alathur south of Chennai. They burn coal to produce process

steam, which is used in their manufacturing processes. This company generates industrial

waste, which consists of carbon compounds such as toluene and ethanol. The heating value of

this waste is about 4.2 MWh/ton (LHV) (3612 kcal/kg). [153]

In Scenario 2 it is assumed that Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd will expand their

business and build a production unit close to the RDF plant. Instead of producing steam from

coal, they will buy the steam generated from the RDF plant. The RDF plant will co-incinerate

industrial waste with RDF, which will increase the heating value of the fuel mix.

It is assumed that the infusion of industrial waste will be about 25 percent of the total waste

mix consisting of RDF fluff and industrial waste. This will give a heating value of 3 MWh/ton

(2580 kcal/kg) (LHV).

5.3.1.3 The flow rate of waste The amount of MSW going to Kodungaiyur dumpsite is approximately 1400-1500 tons per

day compared to 1500-1800 tons per day to Perungudi dumpsite. The company Hydroair

Tectonics has signed a contract with the CoC to take care of 1400 tons of MSW per day at

Perungudi dumpsite resulting in 350 tons of RDF. [37] If there will be a similar contract for

waste processing at Kodungaiyur dumpsite in the near future it can be assumed that the

amount of RDF will be about the same. With this assumption the incineration plant in the case

study could be situated at either one of the dumpsites.

The generation of waste in Chennai is most likely to increase with time. The segregation plant

will probably have the capacity to increase the production of RDF but as the incineration plant

is dimensioned for 350 tons per day it will not be possible to increase the amount of RDF

going to the incineration plant. However, the RDF could then be sold to industries and thereby

replace fossil fuels like sub-bituminous coal, which is widely used by industries in Tamil

Nadu.

75

Scenario 1: In scenario 1 it is assumed that the amount of RDF going to the plant will be 350

tons per day.

Scenario 2: With an infusion of industrial waste, which increases the heating value of the fuel

mix to 3 MWh/ton (2580 kcal/kg), the total amount of fuel going to the plant will be 466 tons

per day.

5.3.1.4 Parameters in the Rankine cycle The process in an incineration plant is a steam power process, which is explained more in box

10. The parameters in the different stages in the Rankine cycle can be optimized for

maximum energy recovery. Nevertheless, compared to the ideal process, there are factors in

the real process that limit the possibilities of extracting maximum of energy. The fuel,

construction material and economy are examples of such factors. The principal rule for

maximum energy recovery is that the difference between the warmest and coolest point in the

Rankine cycle is as large as possible, i.e. that the steam should have a high temperature before

the turbine and a low temperature in the condenser.

Box 10 The Rankine cycle The cycle consists of four processes which take place in four different components in a

closed system. The four components are: feed water pump, steam boiler, turbine and

condenser, all which can be seen in figure 31. The feed water pump increases the pressure

of the working medium. In the boiler the water is heated and vaporized into steam. The

steam goes through a turbine where it expands to overheated pressure and temperature, as

work is extracted. In the condenser the steam condenses into water when heat is transferred

to a cooling medium. From this stage, the condense water goes to a feed water tank before

it continues to the feed water pump and the Rankine cycle is completed.

To decide the electric and thermal power of a steam power plant, a temperature-entropy

diagram, T-s diagram, can be used. By deciding the pressure and temperature at stage a, b,

c and d in figure 31 it is possible to find out the enthalpy in the working medium at these

specific stages.

Figure 31 The Rankine cycle and T-s diagram. [167] [168]

76

The following section will specify the different stages in the Rankine cycle (as illustrated in

box 10) for the steam process in the case study.

Stage a: Stage a occurs after condenser when the working medium is saturated liquid. The

temperature at this stage is the same as in the condenser. For optimal energy recovery the

temperature in the condenser should be as low as possible. The highest dew point2 of the

surrounding area decides the lowest temperature for the system. [149] The average dew point

in Chennai can be seen in figure 32.

F Figure 32 The dew point in Chennai through a year. [44]

The highest dew point in Chennai occurs in April and is 24.4 degrees Celsius. [44] This gives

the lowest possible temperature in the condenser to 35 degrees Celsius as some degrees have

to be added for the loss in the heat exchanger. [149]

When the temperature is decided, the pressure and enthalpy is given in a T-s diagram. The

values are presented in table 18.

Table 18 Characteristics of water in stage a in the Rankine cycle. [100]

Stage T [°C] P [bar] h [kJ/kg]

a 35 0.056 146.6

Stage b: The feed water pump increases the pressure of the water before it is fed into the

boiler at stage b. In order to get a flow of the feed water into the boiler, there has to be a

pressure difference before and after the boiler. Since it is a marginal pressure difference, this

is neglected. [149] The temperature of the feed water at stage b is the same as after the

condenser (stage a) and the pressure is the same as after the boiler (stage c). The enthalpy is

given in a T-s diagram and the values are presented in table 19.

Table 19 Characteristics of water in stage b in the Rankine cycle. [100]

Stage T [°C] P [bar] h [kJ/kg]

b 35 45 506.8

2 The dew point is the lowest temperature humid air can have without condensing into water.

77

The efficiency of the process could increase if steam is tapped off from the turbine to preheat

the feed water in preheaters, thus the temperature at stage b would increase. This is a financial

deliberation, where the profitability will depend on the price for electricity. In this study

preheating of the water is only performed in scenario 2, because the condensate from the

industry has a high temperature that would be senseless not to use.

Stage c: Stage c occurs after the boiler and before the turbine, when the working medium is

saturated vapour. For optimal energy recovery, the temperature at this stage should be as high

as possible. The maximum temperature that could be reached depends on the fuel. When coal

is incinerated, it is possible to reach temperatures around 530 degrees Celsius [149].

However, when the fuel is waste, which gives corrosive flue gases, the maximum temperature

is lower, around 400 degrees Celsius. [145] Better material or chemical additives would make

it possible to use higher temperatures. [149]

For the values in stage c in the Rankine cycle, Borlänge Energy’s values from their waste-to-

energy plant will be used. These values can be seen in table 20.

Table 20 Characteristics of saturated vapour in stage c in the Rankine cycle. [145] [100]

Stage T [°C] P [bar] h [kJ/kg]

c 400 45 3208

Stage d: Stage d occurs after the turbine and before the condenser when the working medium

is wet vapour. Hence, the temperature at this stage will be the same as in the condenser, i.e. 35

degrees Celsius. Figure 33 shows the steam power process in a T-s diagram. The blue line

illustrates the ideal process, while the red line illustrates the real process, assuming that the

isentropic efficiency of the turbine is 85 percent. In the ideal or isentropic process the steam

expands trough the turbine to the surrounding temperature and pressure (stage dis). Because of

the efficiency of the turbine the real process allows the steam to expand longer through the

turbine (stage d).

Figure 33 The steam process illustrated in a T-s diagram. [100]

The enthalpy in stage dis is read from the T-s diagram to 2 100 kJ/kg, which gives the

enthalpy in stage d to 2 270 kJ/kg. The calculations are presented in box 11.

78

The data for stage d is presented in table 21. The pressure and enthalpy is read from the T-s

diagram.

Table 21 Characteristics of the wet vapour in stage d in the Rankine cycle. [100]

Stage T [°C] P [bar] h [kJ/kg]

d 35 0.056 2270

Technical and financial limitation: There are financial and technical aspects that limit the

lowest possible temperature in the condenser. The lower the chosen temperature is in the

condenser, the larger cooling tower is needed, which makes this a financial deliberation.

Whether the chosen temperature in the condenser is too low or not can be illustrated in a T-s

diagram. As seen in figure 33 the point after the turbine (stage d) is in the wet area which is

below the line. This means that the steam will start to condense in the turbine and cause

erosion. To prevent this, steam could be extracted from the turbine (2), reheated in the boiler

and then sent back to a low pressure turbine (2’), as illustrated in figure 34. [167]

Figure 34 T-s diagram with two turbines. [167]

𝜂𝑡 =𝑕𝑐 − 𝑕𝑑𝑕𝑐 − 𝑕𝑑𝑖𝑠

Box 11 Calculations of the enthalpy after the turbine.

Where:

ηt The isentropic efficiency of the turbine [%]

h Enthalpy [kJ/kg]

Assumptions:

ηt 85 % [154]

Stage T [°C] P [bar] h [kJ/kg]

c 400 45 3208

dis 35 0.056 2100

Result:

The enthalpy in stage d is 2 270 kJ/kg.

79

If two turbines are used, more of the energy content in the waste can be extracted and less

needs to be cooled away. The revenue from electricity will be bigger with two turbines, but

the extra turbine will increase the investment cost. Two turbines are only financially viable for

larger applications [144], hence this will not be an alternative for this specific case in

Chennai.

There is also a possibility to increase the pressure before the turbine. However, an increased

pressure means higher internal electricity costs and increased investment costs in the form of

more robust pipes. [149]

Additional parameters in scenario 2: In scenario 2, when both electricity and process steam

will be produced, the energy extracted from the plant will increase. Nevertheless, the

maximum extracted electric power will decrease when steam is tapped off the turbine. The

decrease in electric power produced depends on the pressure, temperature and flow of the

process steam leaving the turbine. Table 22 specifies the steam requirements of Orchid

Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Table 22 Steam requirements of Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals LTd. [153]

Required steam characteristics

Pressure [bar] 10

Temperature [°C] 180

Mass flow [kg/s] 6

Steam with this specific characteristic will be tapped off at an outlet of the turbine. The rest of

the steam flow will expand totally through the turbine and generate electricity. At the

industry, the steam will go to a steam generator, which functions as a condenser. Considering

losses in the steam generator, the steam pressure drawn from the turbine has to be slightly

higher. Assuming that the steam is drawn at 12 bar, this gives the temperature to 220 degrees

Celsius.

Hence, the Rankine cycle in scenario 2 will have two more stages, x and y, which are

specified in table 23 and figure 35. The enthalpy in stage x is read from the T-s diagram.

Table 23 The two extra stages in the steam cycle. [100]

Figure 35 The steam cycle in scenario 2. [100]

Stage T [°C] P [bar] h [kJ/kg]

y 220 12 2866

x 188 12 798.6

80

The water after the industry has a temperature of 190 degrees Celsius. This water can be used

to preheat the feed water before the boiler. As the water from the industry has a pressure of 12

bar, a valve is necessary before the feed water tank to lower the pressure. The new value for

the enthalpy in stage b with preheaters is 380.9 kJ/kg and is calculated in box 12. This gives

the temperature of the feed water before the boiler to 90 degrees Celsius. However, this makes

only a small difference for the efficiency of the plant and is neglected in the further

calculations.

𝑚𝑏 ∙ (𝑕𝑏2 − 𝑕𝑏1) = 𝑚 𝑥(𝑕𝑥 − 𝑕𝑎)

Box 12 Calculation of the enthalpy before the boiler in the presence of a preheater

Where:

Stage T [°C] P [bar] h [kJ/kg] m [kg/s]

a 35 0.056 146.6 17.0

b1 35 45 150.8 17.0

x 188 12 798.6 6.0

Result:

The enthalpy after the preheater before the boiler (hb2) is calculated to 380.9 kJ/kg.

81

5.3.1.5 Summary of parameters Table 24, 25 and 26 summarize the parameters that will be used to determine the potential

thermal and electrical power that could be extracted from the MSW incineration plant in the

two scenarios in the case study.

Table 24 Boiler efficiency.

Parameter

Boiler efficiency [%] 89

Turbine efficiency [%] 85

Generator efficiency [%] 98

Table 25 Fuel specifications for scenarios 1 and 2.

Parameter Scenario 1 Scenario 2

Fuel RDF RDF + industrial waste

Heating value [MWh/ton] (kcal/kg) 2.6 (2236) 3 (2580)

Heating value [MJ/kg] 9.4 10.8

Flow rate of waste [tons/day] 350 466

Flow rate of waste [kg/s] 4.1 5.4

Table 26 Parameters in the Rankine cycle.

Stage T [°C] P [bar] h [kJ/kg]

a 35 0.056 146.6

b (scenario 1) 35 45 150.8

b (scenario 2) 90 45 380.9

c 400 45 3208

d 35 0.056 2270

y 220 12 2866

x 188 12 798.6

5.3.2 Potential power generation

This section will calculate the potential electric and thermal power that could be extracted

from an MSW incineration plant in scenarios 1 and 2. Firstly, the fuel power, steam flow and

the thermal and electric efficiency are estimated.

5.3.2.1 The fuel power of the plant The fuel power of the plant can be estimated if the flow rate and heating value of the fuel is

known, as well as the efficiency of the boiler.

The fuel power of the plant in scenarios 1 and 2 is 34 MW and 52 MW, respectively. The

calculations are presented in boxes 13 and 14.

82

5.3.2.2 Steam flow The steam flow can be calculated from the enthalpy difference over the boiler (stages a and c

in the Rankine cycle) and the fuel power of the plant.

This gives a steam flow of 11.3 kg/s and 17.0 kg/s in scenarios 1 and 2, respectively. The

calculations are presented in box 15.

𝑃𝐹 = 𝐵 ∙ 𝐻𝑖 ∙ 𝜂𝑏

Box 14 The fuel power of the plant in scenario 2

Where:

PF Fuel power [MW]

B Flow rate of waste [kg/s]

Hi Lower heating value [MJ/kg]

ηb Efficiency of the furnace in a BFB [%]

Assumptions:

B 466 ton/day (5.4 kg/s)

Hi 3 MWh/ton (10.8 MJ/kg)

ηb 89.5 % [111]

Result:

The fuel power of the plant is 52 MW in scenario 2.

𝑃𝐹 = 𝐵 ∙ 𝐻𝑖 ∙ 𝜂𝑏

Box 13 The fuel power of the plant in scenario 1

Where:

PF Fuel power [MW]

B Flow rate of waste [kg/s]

Hi Lower heating value [MJ/kg]

ηb Efficiency of the furnace in a BFB [%]

Assumptions:

B 350 ton/day (4.1 kg/s)

Hi 2.6 MWh/ton (9.4 MJ/kg)

Ηb 89.5 % [111]

Result:

The fuel power of the plant is 34 MW in scenario 1.

83

5.3.2.3 Electrical and thermal efficiencies The efficiencies of the plants in scenarios 1 and 2 are calculated from data of the steam flow

and the enthalpy at different stages in the steam cycle.

In scenario 1 the total mass flow of the steam is 11.3 kg/s throughout the whole cycle. In

scenario 2 the total mass flow of the steam after the boiler is 17.0 kg/s. Since the industry

needs steam with a mass flow of 6 kg/s at 180 degrees Celsius and 10 bar, steam with

characteristics shown in table 22 will be tapped off at an outlet of the turbine. The rest of the

flow (11 kg/s) will expand through the turbine to stage (d) and generate electricity.

The electric efficiency in scenario 1 is 31 percent and 24 percent in scenario 2. The thermal

efficiency in scenario 2 is 24 percent. The calculations are presented in boxes 16 and 17.

𝑚 =𝑃𝐹

(𝑕𝑐 − 𝑕𝑎)

Box 15 The steam flow in scenarios 1 and 2

Where:

m Steam flow [kg/s]

h Enthalpy [kJ/kg]

PF Fuel power [kW]

Assumptions:

hc 3208 kJ/kg

ha 146.6 kJ/kg

PF1 34 MW (34 493 kW)

PF2 52 MW (52 196 kW)

Result:

The steam flow in scenario 1 and 2 is 11.3 kg/s and 17.0 kg/s, respectively.

𝜂𝑒 =𝑚 ∙ (𝑕𝑐 − 𝑕𝑑)

𝑚 ∙ (𝑕𝑐 − 𝑕𝑎)

Box 16 Calculation of the electric efficiency in scenario 1

Where:

ηe Electric efficiency of the plant [%]

m Steam flow [kg/s]

h Enthalpy [kJ/kg]

Assumptions:

Stage T [°C] P [bar] h [kJ/kg] m [kg/s]

a 35 0.056 146.6 11.3

b 35 45 150.8 11.3

c 400 45 3208 11.3

d - - 2270 11.3

Result:

The electric efficiency in scenario 1 is 31 %.

84

𝜂𝑒 =𝑚𝑐 ∙ 𝑕𝑐 − 𝑕𝑦 + 𝑚𝑑 ∙ (𝑕𝑦 − 𝑕𝑑)

𝑚𝑐 ∙ (𝑕𝑐 − 𝑕𝑎)

𝜂𝑡𝑕 =𝑚𝑥 ∙ (𝑕𝑦 − 𝑕𝑥)

𝑚𝑐 ∙ (𝑕𝑐 − 𝑕𝑎)

Box 17 Calculations of the electric and thermal efficiencies in scenario 2

Where:

ηe Electric efficiency of the plant [%]

ηth Thermal efficiency of the plant [%]

Assumptions:

Stage T [°C] P [bar] h [kJ/kg] 𝑚 [kg/s]

a 35 0.056 146.6 17.0

b2 90 45 380.9 17.0

c 400 45 3208 17.0

d 35 0.056 2270 11.0

y 220 12 2866 6.0

x 188 12 798.6 6.0

Result:

The electric efficiency is 24 % and the thermal efficiency is 24 % in scenario 2.

85

5.3.2.4 The potential electric and thermal power extracted from the plant When electricity is produced, only a part of the energy in the fuel can be extracted. How much

depends on the electric efficiency and the efficiencies of the turbine and generator. The

thermal power possible to extract depends on the thermal efficiency.

The potential electric power in scenario 1 is 10.5 MW, whereas it is 12.2 MW in scenario 2.

The thermal power in scenario 2 is 12.5 MW. The calculations are presented in boxes 18 and

19.

𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡 = 𝑚𝑐 ∙ (𝑕𝑐 − 𝑕𝑎)

𝑃𝑒 = 𝜂𝑒 ∙ 𝜂𝑔 ∙ 𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡

Box 18 The potential electric power in scenario 1

Where:

Pe Electric power [kW]

ηe Electric efficiency of the plant [%]

ηg Efficiency of the generator [%]

Ptot Maximum power of the plant [kW]

m Steam flow [kg/s]

h Enthalpy [kJ/kg]

Assumptions:

ηe 31 %

ηg 98 % [154]

m 11.3 kg/s

hc 3208 kJ/kg

ha 146.6 kJ/kg

Result:

The electric power in an incineration plant producing electricity is 10.5 MW.

86

The power that needs to be cooled away can be determined by knowing the enthalpy and mass

flow of the steam before the condenser and the water after the condenser. This knowledge will

determine the required size of the cooling tower. The calculations in box 20 show that the

power that needs to be cooled away are 24.0 MW and 23.4 MW in scenarios 1 and 2,

respectively.

𝑃𝑐 = 𝑚 ∙ (𝑕𝑑 − 𝑕𝑎)

Box 20 The power that needs to be cooled in scenarios 1 and 2

Where:

Data Scenario 1 Scenario 2

ha [kJ/kg] 146.6 146.6

hd [kJ/kg] 2270 2270

m [kg/s] 11.3 11.0

Result:

The power that needs to be cooled is 24.0 MW for scenario 1 and 23.4 MW for

scenario 2.

𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡 = 𝑚𝑐 ∙ (𝑕𝑐 − 𝑕𝑎)

𝑃𝑒 = 𝜂𝑒 ∙ 𝜂𝑔 ∙ 𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡

𝑃𝑡𝑕 = 𝜂𝑡𝑕 ∙ 𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡

Box 19 The potential electric and thermal power in scenario 2

Where:

Pe Electric power [kW]

Pth Thermal power [kW]

ηe Electric efficiency of the plant [%]

ηg Efficiency of the generator [%]

ηth Thermal efficiency of the plant [%]

Ptot Maximum power of the plant [kW]

m Steam flow [kg/s]

h Enthalpy [kJ/kg]

Assumptions:

ηe 24 %

ηg 98 % [154]

ηth 24 %

m 17.0 kg/s

hc 3208 kJ/kg

ha 146.6 kJ/kg

Result:

The electric power in scenario 2 is 12.2 MW and the thermal power is 12.5 MW.

87

5.3.2.5 Summary of the estimated technical parameters The result of technical calculations is presented in table 27.

Table 27 The estimated technical parameters.

Parameters Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Total amount of fuel [tons/day] 350 466

Fuel power of plant [MW] 34 52

Steam flow [kg/s] 11.3 17.0

Electric efficiency [%] 31 24

Thermal efficiency [%] - 24

Cooling power [MW] 24.0 23.4

Electric power [MW] 10.5 12.2

Thermal power [MW] - 12.5

5.4 Financial viability

The costs for setting up and operate a waste incineration facility can vary greatly in different

parts of the world. Labour costs and the price of manufacturing resources in the country

where the facility will be set up are example of factors that will determine the final cost for

the project. According to Bengt Heike at EON in Norrköping, Sweden, the facility described

in this case study would cost about Rs. 5 billion, ($100 million) if it would be set up in

Sweden. This price includes everything such as flue gas treatment, piping, labour costs and

material for the construction work etc. [150] See appendix 8 for price estimations of specific

components needed in an MSW-incineration plant.

Because of the difficulties finding relevant data for the investment and operational costs in

India and the uncertainties applying the same data from developed countries on India, this

case study will focus on the revenues from the plant. The estimated revenues will determine

which plant cost is financially viable for the project.

5.4.1 Revenues

The possible revenues that the investor can get from building the plant are profits from selling

electricity and/or steam, CERs and from getting subsidies. The revenues from de two

scenarios are given in table 28.

Table 28 Revenues from scenarios 1 and 2. [37]

Scenario 1 Scenario 2

Electricity Electricity and steam

CERs (electricity) CERs (electricity and steam)

Subsidy Subsidy

5.4.1.1 Revenues from selling electricity and steam The generated electricity will be sold to the state electricity board in Tamil Nadu, TNEB. The

price for selling electricity generated from burning MSW in Chennai is currently Rs.

3.15/kWh ($0.065). [130] The process steam which is generated in scenario 2 will be sold to

the company Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd. At the moment they generate steam

to a price of Rs. 1/kWh ($0.021). Therefore, this process steam will be sold to a lower price,

88

which is assumed to be Rs. 0.8/kWh ($0.017). The number of working hours per year is

specified to 8000.

The calculations of the revenues from electricity and steam are presented in box 21. The result

shows that the annual revenue from selling electricity is Rs. 265 million ($5.5 million) in

scenario 1 and Rs. 307 million ($6.4 million) in scenario 2 and the annual revenue from

selling process steam is Rs. 80 million ($1.7 million).

The company Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd will profit by switching from their

old system to buying steam generated from the incineration plant. Considering that they will

buy steam to a Rs. 0.2/kWh ($0.0042) lower price, they will save about Rs. 20 million ($0.42

million) each year.

5.4.1.2 Revenues from getting subsidies As explained in section 4.2.1.1, there are possibilities to get subsidies for an MSW-to-energy

project from MNRE. As formulated by MNRE, it is possible to get financial assistance of Rs.

20 million ($0.42 million) per MW, subject to ceiling of 20 percent of project cost or Rs. 100

million ($2.1 million) per project, whichever is less. [50] Since the plants in scenarios 1 and 2

both are larger than 5 MW, it is assumed that the revenues from subsidies will be Rs. 100

million ($2.1 million).

𝑅𝑒 = 𝑝𝑒 ∙ 𝑃𝑒 ∙ 𝑕𝑜𝑝

𝑅𝑡𝑕 = 𝑝𝑡𝑕 ∙ 𝑃𝑡𝑕 ∙ 𝑕𝑜𝑝

Box 21 The revenues from selling electricity and process steam

Where:

Re Revenues from selling electricity [Rs./year]

Rth Revenues from selling process steam [Rs/year]

pe Price for electricity [Rs./kWh]

pth Price for process steam [Rs./kWh]

Pe Electric power of the plant [kW]

Pth Thermal power of the plant [kW]

hop Working hours per year [h]

Assumptions:

Parameter Scenario 1 Scenario 2

Price for electricity (pe) [Rs/KWh] 3.15 3.15

Price for steam(pth) [Rs/KWh] - 0.8

Electric power (Pe) [MW] 10.5 12.2

Thermal power (Pth)[MW] - 12.5

Working hours/year (hop) 8000 8000

Result:

The annual revenue from selling electricity is Rs. 265 million ($5.5 million) in scenario 1

and Rs. 307 million ($6.4 million) in scenario 2. The annual revenue from selling process

steam is Rs. 80 million ($1.7 million).

89

5.4.1.3 Revenues from selling CERs The prevented tons of CO2 emissions for a project correspond to the amount of CERs that can

be issued (section 4.2.1.3). The calculations of the prevented CO2 emissions for scenario 1

and scenario 2 can be seen in appendix 10. The market price for a CER, January to April

2009, was 11-12 Euros [110]. The CERs generated for a project will be sold before the project

has been realized, i.e. before the actual emission reduction has occurred and the CERs have

been issued. The buyer thereby takes a risk, as the project could fail to reduce the projected

emission reductions. Because of the involved risk the CERs have to be sold to less than the

market price. [146] The CERs are in this study assumed to be sold for 10 Euros (Rs. 680). The

revenues from CERs in both scenarios can be seen in table 29.

Table 29 The potential revenues from CERs. [110] [146]

Parameter Scenario 1 Scenario 2

Prevented CO2 emissions [tons/year] 66 076 104 056

Revenues from CERs [Rs/year] (million $) 44 931 680 (0.93) 70 758 080 (1.5)

The CERs are issued annually and can be issued more than once for a specific project. The

project proponent can choose between two crediting periods:

A fixed crediting period of 10 years

A renewable crediting period of 7 years renewed thrice (that is 7·3 = 21 years) [147]

In the second option the project proponent needs to justify baseline and calculate the CO2

emissions once every 7 years and then apply for renewal. Therefore, the most common is to

choose a straight 10 years period, which also is chosen for this case.

5.4.2 Alternative cost

In Hydroair Tectonics existing plant in Ichalkaranji they sell their produced RDF to industries

for Rs. 1000 ($21) per ton. In the case study it is assumed that Hydroair Tectonics has the

option to sell their produced RDF for the same price. If the revenue from the incineration

plant is less than the revenue from selling the RDF directly to the industries, the plant should

not be built. Therefore, in this case study, the price Rs. 1000 ($21) per ton will be used as an

alternative cost in order to estimate the allowed plant cost of the project.

5.4.3 Estimation of allowed plant cost

The revenues and costs described in the past sections will be used to estimate the allowed

plant cost. The allowed plant cost is the total cost (investment costs including operational

costs) that the project is allowed to have to be profitable, for a chosen payback time. A

summary of the known revenues and costs is presented in table 30.

90

Table 30 The known revenues and costs for the plant.

Parameter Scenario 1 Scenario 2

Annual revenues [Rs/year] [Rs/year]

Revenues from electricity* [Rs/year] 264 600 000 307 440 000

Revenues from steam*[Rs/year] - 80 000 000

Revenues from CERs** [Rs/year] 24 125 687 51 825 539

One time revenue [Rs] [Rs]

Subsidies [Rs) 100 000 000 100 000 000

Annual cost [Rs/year] [Rs/year]

RDF 116 550 000 116 550 000 *the revenue will increase with the price of electricity and steam (see section 5.4.3.1) **max 10 years

By using the data in table 30, the allowed plant cost is estimated for scenarios 1 and 2, for

different chosen payback times.

5.4.3.1 Assumptions

The price for electricity and steam will most likely increase with time. In the

calculations it is assumed that the price for electricity and steam each will increase

with 2.5 percent annually, from the values in 2009 which was Rs. 3.15/kWh ($0.065)

and Rs. 0.8/kWh ($0.017) respectively.

The incineration plant could only operate for 8000 working hours per year due to

maintenance work etc. It is assumed that the working hours are the same for the

industry.

5.4.4 Result

The aim with the case study was to answer the following question:

Should Hydroair Tectonics invest in a combustion unit burning RDF with recovery of

electricity and/or steam or should they sell their RDF to industries?

The answer depends on which payback time the investor allows. Considering that the investor

allows a payback time of 15 years for setting up an incineration plant, the allowed plant cost

is Rs. 3546 million ($74 million) for scenario 1 and Rs. 6007 million ($125 million) for

scenario 2, as seen in table 31. If the investor estimates that the total plant costs (investment

costs and operational costs) will be less than this amount, the plant should be built. If not, the

RDF should be sold to industries. The result is shown graphically in figure 36.

Table 31 Allowed plant costs for different payback times.

Payback time

[year] Scenario 1 Scenario 2

[M Rs] [M USD] [M Rs] [M USD]

5 1133 24 1908 40

10 2348 49 3983 83

15 3546 74 6007 125

20 4977 104 8374 174

91

. Figure 36 Allowed plant costs for different payback times in million Rupees.

5.4.4.1 Discussion of result The result shows that in scenario 2, when both steam and electricity are recovered, the

allowed plant costs are considerably higher. However, since additional components will come

with scenario 2 such as an extra steam piping system, modifications of the current steam

system in the industry, a more expensive back pressure turbine etc, the investment cost will be

higher. Nevertheless, most likely the extra cost will not exceed the revenues that will come

with scenario 2; hence, this scenario is probably the most profitable. In reality, finding a

steam demanding industry that could establish a production unit close to one of the dumpsites

in Chennai and at the same time generates suitable waste for co-incineration could be

difficult. The most realistic scenario is scenario 1.

Whether or not the real costs for setting up a plant will be less than “the allowed plant cost”

can be difficult to say. The investment cost for the plant described in scenario 1 would be

about Rs. 4808 million ($100 million), if it would be built in Sweden. [150] (The plant in

scenario 2 would be slightly more expensive.) This price only includes the investment cost,

not the operational cost during the plant’s lifetime. Considering scenario 1 (when only

electricity is produced) the total allowed plant cost during 15 years is Rs. 3546 million, which

is less than just the investment cost if it would have been built in Sweden. An assumption of

this could be that this plant should not be built. However, the costs in India could be

considerably lower due to lower labour costs and the possibility of using domestic resources.

As seen in box 3 in section 2.7.1.2 the plant costs for setting up the 6 MW RDF plant in

Hyderabad in 2003 was Rs. 400 million ($8.3 million), which is a lot cheaper than the

investment cost of the plant in Sweden. [32] In that case it could be profitable to build this

incineration plant. One aspect that could be questioned, regarding the price difference, is if the

plant in Hyderabad has the same flue gas treatment as a plant in Sweden, since the flu gas

treatment is a large part of the investment cost.

Another aspect of consideration is the environmental situation of the alternative method, i.e.

selling RDF to coal-firing industries. Which flue gas treatment do these coal boilers have?

Selling RDF to industries has certain environmental benefits. An advantage of burning RDF

in existing coal boilers is that a new plant does not need to be build, which causes less stress

on the environment with respect of building material. Furthermore when RDF is burnt in

92

existing coal boilers, it will replace coal and thereby also decrease the carbon dioxide

emissions to the atmosphere.

To sum up from the discussion above: It could be difficult to get profitability from setting up

an RDF-plant in India, if the same standard and the same flue gas treatment are demanded, as

in Sweden. Nevertheless, by using domestic labour and natural resources in India, the price

could be significantly lower and should therefore be analyzed further. Besides from analyzing

the financial gains, the environmental gains from building the plant could also be compared to

the alternative method of selling the RDF to industries, in order to determine the feasibility of

the project.

93

6 Conclusions Based on the analysis in the case study, the following conclusions can be drawn on which is

the best solution for future MSW management in Chennai.

The best solution for waste incineration in Chennai is combustion of RDF and not mass

burning of MSW. The production of RDF should take place in a processing facility, set up by

Hydroair Tectonics. The products generated from the plant should be compost, bricks, RDF

and recyclable material.

The RDF generated from the processing plant should be sold to coal fired industries or burnt

with energy recovery. Considering that the RDF should be burnt with energy recovery, it

should be combusted in a bubbling fluidized bed. Since the amount of RDF is the same from

both of the dumpsites, the plant could be situated at either one of the dumpsites. It should be

situated close to the processing plant at (or close to) the dumpsite to minimize the

transportation costs. The plant should have a semi-dry flue gas treatment system, which has

low investment cost but sufficient flue gas treatment in order to meet the national emission

standards. The combustion process should generate energy in two different scenarios:

Scenario 1: The fuel should consist of RDF with an average lower heating value of 2.6

MWh/ton (2236 kcal/kg). There should be recovery of electricity, which will be sold

to TNEB. 350 tons of RDF per day will be combusted in an incineration plant with an

electric power of 10.5 MW.

Scenario 2: The fuel should consist of a fuel mix of RDF and industrial waste with a

lower heating value of 3 MWh/ton (2580 kcal/kg). There will be recovery of

electricity which will be sold to TNEB, and process steam which will be sold to a

nearby industry. Every day, 466 tons of RDF and industrial waste will be combusted

in an incineration plant with an electric power of 12.2 MW and a thermal power of

12.5 MW.

Considering a payback time of 15 years the produced RDF should be

combusted in an incineration plant with recovery of electricity

- if the total plant cost does not exceed about Rs. 3546 million ($74 million)

combusted in an incineration plant together with industrial waste, with recovery of

electricity and process steam

- if there would be an industry close to the incineration plant, with suitable waste for

co-incineration as well as a demand for process steam. Considering the specific

case which assumes that Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd will expand

their business and build a production unit close to the dumpsite, the plant should

be built if the total plant cost does not exceed about Rs. 6007 million ($125

million).

sold to industries for Rs. 1000 ($21) per ton

- if the plant costs exceed the above mentioned.

94

95

7 Conclusive discussion This section will discuss the result of the master’s thesis with respect of method criticism,

source of errors and suggestions of further studies.

7.1 Method criticism

The conclusion regarding if the RDF should be incinerated or sold to industries, is only based

on the financial viability. However, there are other aspects besides the financial that could be

considered, such as the environmental. This could be further analyzed.

In scenario 1, it is assumed that the lower heating value of the RDF is sufficient to sustain

combustion in the chosen boiler. It is said, that this specific boiler can handle heating values,

as low as 2.2 MWh/ton (1892 kcal/kg) (LHV). The average lower heating value of RDF is 2.6

MWh/ton (2236 kcal/kg) and it is therefore assumed that the RDF could be co-incinerated

without additional fuel. According to table 12 in section 3.1.2.2 the lower heating value of

RDF ranges from 2.0 to 3.1 MWh/ton (1720-2666 kcal/kg). It means that in the monsoon

time, when the heating value of RDF is at its minimum, there could be a need for co-

incineration. This is not considered in this study.

As mentioned in the case study, RDF could be co-incinerated with coal in order to increase

the heating value. Considering scenario 1 when 350 tons of RDF is incinerated every day, a

15 percent infusion of sub-bituminous coal with a lower heating value of 5.25 MWh/ton

(4515 kcal/kg) would give a total lower heating value of 3 MWh/ton (2580 kcal/kg). This

corresponds to about 62 tons of coal per day, which with a cost of Rs. 3000 ($63) per ton will

give an extra annual cost of Rs. 62 million ($1.3 million). Whether or not this is financially

viable could be further analyzed.

In the case study in scenario 2, it is assumed that the industrial waste is co-incinerated with

RDF. The method for feeding the industrial waste into the combustion unit is not specified.

Depending on the characteristics of the waste, the boiler might need to be modified. A

sprinkler system could be necessary if the waste is fluent and pelletation could be the case if it

is heterogeneous. This needs to be considered in order to determine the financial and technical

viability. Another issue is that the industrial waste might not even be suitable for incineration,

for certain reasons. The specifications described in section 5.1.4.2 should preferably be

fulfilled.

The incineration plant in the case study is situated at, or close to the dumpsite. It would be

most advantageous if it would be situated at the dumpsite, considering the lack of land area in

Chennai and because it would minimize the transportation costs. If the incineration plant is

suitable to place on the dumping ground or not needs further investigations.

The choice of flue gas treatment in the case study was determined from the fact that the

emission standards in India and Sweden were at the same level, which would mean that the

plant in India should have the same flue gas treatment as in Sweden, in order not to exceed

these standards. How strict these standards are followed in India is unknown. According to

Mr S. Balaji at TNPCB, depending on where the plant is located, different emission limits are

allowed. It is TNPCB that will decide whether or not it is possible to build the plant in the

requested area. Since the two dumpsites in Chennai are rigorously polluted, getting a

clearance from TNPCB to build an incineration plant at or close to one of these dumpsites can

96

be difficult. As Mr S. Balaji was saying, it would require a plant with very good flue gas

treatment. [132]

7.2 Sources of errors

The calculations of the heating value of the MSW in Chennai are based on the percentage of

the different components’ fractions in the MSW. In the studies where these data were found, it

does not say where in the waste stream the analyses were made. If they were made on the

dumpsite, the fraction of recyclable material would be less than in the beginning of the waste

stream considering that the ragpickers have sorted them out. A lower fraction of the

recyclable material, such as plastic, will decrease the heating value of the waste.

The calculations of the heating value of RDF are based on data about the content of specific

substances in the RDF. The quality of these data is unknown. Information about the heating

value of the industrial waste comes from personal communication with employees at Orchid

Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Also in this case, the quality of the data is unknown. Since

the calculation of potential power of the plant depends on the heating value of RDF and the

fuel mix of RDF and industrial waste, uncertainties in these values will affect the result.

7.3 Suggestions of further studies

Investigate the possibility of using the organic fraction in a biomethanation plant for

electricity generation instead of producing compost at one of Hydroair Tectonics’

processing plants. Regarding the electricity deficit in India, this technique is to prefer.

Examine the possibility to build an incineration plant at the processing plant in

Ichalkaranji. In Ichalkaranji, where one of Hydroair Tectonics processing plants is

situated, there are many textile industries that are in need of steam for their

production. Furthermore, there are large areas where they cultivate sugarcanes near the

processing plant. The waste from the sugarcanes could be used for co-incineration

with RDF to increase the heating value, while process steam could be provided to the

textile industries. In this area the ground water level is relatively high, meaning that

water is not so scarce compared to other places in India, which is advantageous if

setting up an incineration plant. [123]

Study the potential for building an incineration plant with co-generation of electricity

and district cooling. Because of the warm climate in Chennai, district heating is not an

alternative. District cooling on the other hand could be an alternative. However,

considering the large investment costs for district cooling pipelines as well as the

current infrastructure in Chennai today, this alternative might be more suitable in a

few years from now.

Investigate the possibility for using hot flue gases, generated from the incineration

process in the case study, to dry the RDF further and thereby increase the heating

value.

97

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107

Appendix 1 The ownership of the power stations in India The ownership of the power stations in India is seen in table A1.

Table A1 The ownership of the power stations in India in GW. [28]

Ownership sector

Thermal Total Thermal

Nuclear Hydro RES* Total

Coal Gas Diesel

State 42598 3912 603 47112 0 26826 2248 76186

Private 5241 4183 579 10022 0 1230 10995 22246

Central 29620 6639 0 36259 4120 8592 0 48971

Total 77459 14734 1182 93393 4120 36648 13242 147403

108

Appendix 2 Annual waste dumped in Chennai The calculations of the annual population are based on the growth rate in table A2 with 2001

as reference year. The population was 7.04 million in Chennai metropolitan area according to

census 2001. [54] The reference year for per capita waste generation is 1996. The waste

generation in 1996 was 585 g/cap/day. [54] The waste growth rate per year is assumed to be 1

percent. [7]

Table A2 Annual waste generation in Chennai.

Year Population [g/cap/day] [tons/year]

2009 7806349 666 1394128

2008 7702367 659 1361939

2007 7599770 653 1330493

2006 7498540 646 1299773

2005 7404503 640 1270765

2004 7311645 633 1242405

2003 7219951 627 1214677

2002 7129408 621 1187569

2001 7040000 615 1161065

2000 6954460 609 1135601

1999 6869960 603 1110696

1998 6786486 597 1086337

1997 6704026 591 1062513

1996 6622569 585 1039210

1995 6542101 579 1016318

1994 6462611 573 993929

1993 6384087 568 972034

1992 6306516 562 950621

1991 6208423 556 926476

1990 6111856 551 902945

1989 6016791 545 880011

1988 5923204 540 857660

1987 5831073 534 835877

1986 5740375 529 814647

1985 5651088 524 793956

1984 5563190 519 773790

1983 5476658 513 754137

1982 5391473 508 734983

1981 5275414 503 711970

1980 5161853 498 689677

1979 5050737 493 668082

1978 4942013 488 647164

1977 4835629 483 626901

1976 4731535 478 607272

1975 4629682 474 588257

1974 4530022 469 569838

1973 4432506 464 551996

1972 2700124 460 332894

1971 2642000 455 322470

109

Appendix 3 Carbon content of MSW in Chennai Table A3 shows the carbon content in each fraction of Chennai’s MSW composition as well

as the total organic carbon content in Chennai’s MSW. The MSW composition is based on

survey conducted by NEERI.

𝐶0 = 1000 ∙ 𝑆𝑊𝑖 ∙ 𝑑𝑚𝑖 ∙ 𝐶𝐹𝑖 ∙ 𝑂𝐶𝐹𝑖𝑖

Where:

SWi Fraction of waste type i (wet weight) [%]

dmi Dry matter content in the waste (wet weight) [%]

CFi Fraction of carbon in the dry matter (total carbon content) [%]

OCFi Fraction of organic carbon in the total carbon [%]

i Type of waste

C0 Organic carbon content [kg/ton]

Assumptions: Table A3 Characteristics of Chennai’s MSW.

Component SWi [%] dmi [%] CFi [%]

OCFi [%] default [113] Co [kg/ton]

Food 10.3 25 11.7 100 3

Paper/cardboard 8.4 77 33.1 99 21.2

Plastic 7.5 80 48 0 0

Textiles 3.1 90 49.5 80 11

Wood 0.5 80 39.2 100 1.6

Yard 41.1 35 16.7 100 24.1

Other fuel-wastes 0.2 90 48.4 0 -

Glass 0.3 98 0.5 - 0

Metals 0.2 97 4.4 - 0

Other waste 2.5 79.5 20.9 80 3.3

Inerts 26 100 0 - 0

Mixed MSW 100 61.2 16.8 0 0

Total 64.2

Result:

The organic carbon content in the MSW in Chennai is 64 kg per ton.

110

Appendix 4 The total methane emission in Chennai The total methane emissions from the dumpsites in Chennai for 2008 are seen in Table A4,

and were 28 348 tons. C0 is calculated in appendix 3.

αt = ζ·1,87·Ai·C0·k·e-k·t

Where:

αt Landfill gas formation at a certain time [m3/year]

ζ Landfill gas formation factor

A Amount of waste deposited each year [ton]

C0 Amount of degradable organic carbon in the waste at the time of deposition

[kg/ton]

k Degradation rate constant [year-1

]

t Time elapsed since deposition [year]

1.87 Amount of landfill gas produced per kilogram of organic carbon that degrades

[m3/kg]

i A specific year after disposal

Assumptions:

A The amount of MSW generated per year is taken from appendix 2

ζ A typical value for ζ is 0.5. In this study ζ = 0.58 has been used which is

estimated from a study in the Netherlands and a value used in other studies in

India [75]

k 0.094 year-1

is chosen on the same grounds as above [75]

C0 912 kg/ton [appendix 3]

50 % of the landfill gas consists of methane [75]

Both the landfills opened in year 1971

The collection efficiency in Chennai is 73 % [76]

Table A4 Calculated methane emissions in Chennai for 2008.

Year of disposal t [years] A [tons] A*C0 [tons] α(t) *m3/year] CH4 [tons]

2008 0 1361939 87164 8886589 3173

2007 1 1330493 85152 7902533 2822

2006 2 1299773 83185 7027446 2510

2005 3 1270765 81329 6254198 2233

2004 4 1242405 79514 5566033 1988

2003 5 1214677 77739 4953588 1769

2002 6 1187569 76004 4408532 1574

2001 7 1161065 74308 3923450 1401

2000 8 1135601 72678 3493123 1247

1999 9 1110696 71085 3109994 1111

1998 10 1086337 69526 2768887 989

1997 11 1062513 68001 2465193 880

1996 12 1039210 66509 2194809 784

1995 13 1016318 65044 1953885 698

1994 14 993929 63611 1739407 621

111

Year of disposal t [years] A [tons] A*C0 [tons] α(t) *m3/year] CH4 [tons]

1993 15 972034 62210 1548473 553

1992 16 950621 60840 1378497 492

1991 17 926476 59294 1222951 437

1990 18 902945 57788 1084957 387

1989 19 880011 56321 962533 344

1988 20 857660 54890 853924 305

1987 21 835877 53496 757569 271

1986 22 814647 52137 672087 240

1985 23 793956 50813 596251 213

1984 24 773790 49523 528971 189

1983 25 754137 48265 469284 168

1982 26 734983 47039 416331 149

1981 27 711970 45566 367113 131

1980 28 689677 44139 323713 116

1979 29 668082 42757 285444 102

1978 30 647164 41418 251699 90

1977 31 626901 40122 221943 79

1976 32 607272 38865 195705 70

1975 33 588257 37648 172569 62

1974 34 569838 36470 152168 54

1973 35 551996 35328 134179 48

1972 36 332894 21305 73660 26

1971 37 322470 20638 64952 23

Total - 34026945 2177724 79382641 28348

Result:

By adding the amount of methane gas produced from the waste disposed each year, the

methane gas for year 2008 can be estimated. The total methane emissions in Chennai from

MSW in year 2008 were according to the first-order decay method 28 348 tons.

Analysis of methane emission calculations:

Methane generation in a landfill is a complex process depending on many variables, for

example the anaerobic and aerobic processes on different depths in the dumpsite. These

processes are not totally included in the calculations.

The landfill gas factor needs to be estimated for Indian conditions, the current value is

estimated from developing countries.

Ragpickers remove approximately 20 % of the waste before it is landfilled, which is not

considered. On the other hand, the current carbon content in the waste was used for every

year. Previous studies show that using the actual value for the carbon content for each

year gives about 20 % more landfill gas. It is assumed that these two factors cancel each

other. [73]

112

Appendix 5 Calculations of the carbon dioxide emissions from open dumping in Chennai The calculations for fossil CO2 emissions are based on 73 % collection efficiency. It is

assumed that the amount of waste which is not collected is open burned in alleys.

The amount of MSW that is open burned:

𝑀𝑆𝑊 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑑

= 𝑝𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 ∙ 𝑀𝑆𝑊 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 ∙ 365 ∙100 − 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦

100

CO2 emissions from open burning, based on 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse

Gas Inventories [113]:

𝐶𝑂2 𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 = 𝑀𝑆𝑊 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑑 ∙ (𝑆𝑊𝑖 ∙ 𝑑𝑚𝑖 ∙ 𝐶𝐹𝑖 ∙ 𝑂𝐹𝑖) ∙ 44/12

𝑖

Where:

population The population in Chennai 2009

MSW generation Amount of MSW generated per capita per day [tons/cap/day]

365 Days per year

collection efficiency Collection efficiency of MSW in Chennai [%]

SWi Fraction of waste type i (wet weight) incinerated or open-burned

[%]

dmi Dry matter content in the waste (wet weight) incinerated or open-

burned, (fraction)

CFi Fraction of carbon in the dry matter (total carbon content),

(fraction)

OFi Oxidation factor, (fraction)

44/12 Conversion factor from C to CO2

i Type of waste incinerated/open-burned specific as follows

Assumptions:

population 7702367 [appendix 2]

MSW generation 666 g/cap/day [appendix 2]

collection efficiency 73 % [76]

The Tier 2b in 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories are

used: SWi, dmi and CFi are country specific while for OFi default parameter is used.

[113]. Table A5 specifies these parameters.

All the waste in Chennai not collected is open burnt.

113

Table A5 Specifications of SWi, dmi, CFi and OFi in Chennai.

Component SWi [%] dmi [%] CFi [%] OFi [%] default [113]

Food 10.3 25 11.68 58

Paper/cardboard 8.4 77 33.11 58

Plastic 7.5 80 48 58

Textiles 3.1 90 49.5 58

Wood 0.5 80 39.2 58

Yard 41.1 35 16.73 58

Other fuel-wastes 0.2 90 48.42 58

Glass 0.3 98 0.49 58

Metals 0.2 97 4.37 58

Other waste 2.5 79.5 20.91 58

Inerts 26 100 0 58

Mixed MSW 100 61.23 16.79 58

Result:

The amount of waste that is going to be open burned in Chennai in 2009 is 500 225 tons/year.

The total amount of CO2 emissions from this waste will be 213 400 tons/year.

114

Appendix 6 Characteristics of the waste in Chennai analysed by the CoC and NEERI Table A6, A7and A8 specify the content of different substances in MSW and RDF, in order to

determine the heating value with Dulong’s formula.

Table A6 Calculations of the heating value of MSW in Chennai based on a study made by the CoC.

Component Content (%)

m(w) (%)

m(c) (%)

m(h) (%)

m(o) (%)

m(n) (%)

m(s) (%)

LHV HHV

Food 8 75 11.68 2 9.72 0.53 0.03

Paper/cardboard 6.5 23 33.11 5.39 33.88 0.15 0.02

Plastic 7.0 20 48 8 18.24 0 0

Textiles 3.1 10 49.5 5.94 28.08 4.05 0.18

Wood 7.0 20 39.2 4.8 34.16 0.16 0.08

Yard 32.3 65 16.73 2.1 13.3 1.19 0.11

Other fuel-wastes

1.5 10 48.42 8.01 20.97 0.75 0.51

Glass 0 2 0.49 0.1 0.39 0.1 0

Metals 0.03 3 4.37 0.58 4.17 0.1 0

Other waste 0 20.5 20.91 2.39 12.78 0.4 0.1

Inert 34.7 - - - - - -

Mixed MSW 100 31.71 16.84 2.39 12.11 0.59 0.06 1.61 1.98

Table A7 Calculations of the heating value of MSW in Chennai based on a study made by NEERI.

Component Content (%)

m(w) (%)

m(c) (%)

m(h) (%)

m(o) (%)

m(n) (%)

m(s) (%)

LHV HHV

Food 10.3 75 11.68 2 9.72 0.53 0.03

Paper/cardboard 8.4 23 33.11 5.39 33.88 0.15 0.02

Plastic 7.5 20 48 8 18.24 0 0

Textiles 3.1 10 49.5 5.94 28.08 4.05 0.18

Wood 0.5 20 39.2 4.8 34.16 0.16 0.08

Yard 41.1 65 16.73 2.1 13.3 1.19 0.11

Other fuel-wastes

0.2 10 48.42 8.01 20.97 0.75 0.51

Glass 0.3 2 0.49 0.1 0.39 0.1 0

Metals 0.2 3 4.37 0.58 4.17 0.1 0

Other waste 2.5 20.5 20.91 2.39 12.78 0.4 0.1

Inert 26.0 - - - - - -

Mixed MSW 100.0 38.77 16.79 2.40 12.08 0.69 0.06 1.56 1.98

Table A8 Calculations of the heating value of RDF made from MSW in Chennai based on a study made

by Hydroair Tectonics.

Component m(w) (%) m(c) (%) m(h) (%) m(o) (%) m(n) (%) m(s) (%) LHV HHV

RDF 20 25 4 22.5 1.25 0.25 2.55 2.94

Lower limit 10 20 3 20 1 0.2 1.96 2.22

Higher limit 30 30 5 25 1.5 0.3 3.15 3.67

115

Appendix 7 Regulatory systems for setting up an incineration plant in India The regulatory systems in India differ both on federal and state level. The state level systems

can differ from various states while the federal systems are the same throughout all India. In

every state there is a guidance bureau that can provide help with enquiries regarding state

level regulations and support. [135]

A 7.1 Pre-project clearances

The pre-project clearances need to be dealt with before the company can get the approval to

start a business.

A 7.1.1 Federal level

The company needs to have

a registered office in India. The company can be 100 percent foreign owned or it can

be a joint venture with an Indian partner

an approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and a bank account. This is

necessary when the company wants to transfer money out from India. [93]

A 7.1.2 State level

The company needs to have

a building plan permit

environmental clearance

safety clearance for fire, electricity, boilers [140]

Guidance bureau can assist with all the above listed enquiries. Table A9 shows the

responsible authorities/agencies for each enquiry, to which the guidance bureau will send an

application for the company. [140]

Table A9 The responsible authority/agency for the specific enquiry.

Enquiry Responsible authority/agency

Building plan permit Chennai Metropolitan Development Agency (CMDA) or Corporation of Chennai (COC)

Environmental clearance Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB)

Safety clearance for:

Fire Directory of fire and rescue services

Electricity Chief electrical inspector

Boilers Boilers' directory

A 7.2 Post-project clearances

The post-project clearances can be dealt with when the company has got the approval to start

a business. The main post-project clearance is tax registration. The tax registration should be

made both to the federal and state government.

116

Appendix 8 Example of suitable technology with price estimations This chapter will give examples of suitable technology for this specific case, together with

price estimations of specific components.

A 8.1 Boiler

A suitable boiler for this specific case of MSW incineration in Chennai is Ecofluid bubbling

fluidized bed. This boiler is manufactured by AE&E Group, which is an international provider

of systems for thermal power generation and environmental technologies. An advantage with

choosing this company is that they have a manufacturing unit in Chennai, AE&E Chennai

Works. [109] This boiler can burn fuel with lower heating value down to 2.2 MWh/ton (1892

kcal/kg) and the boiler efficiency is about 89 percent. [144]

The boiler is delivered with attaching parts. The principal parts which are included are fuel

feeding system, overheaters and economizer. Furthermore, there will be a feed water system

with a tank, pumps and piping. The excluding parts are roughly spoken those situated before

the feed water system and after the superheaters in the steam cycle. The including components

in the boiler package are specified below in figure A1.

The boiler package from AE&E Group will cost about Rs. 2193 million ($44 million), if it

would be delivered to Sweden. [144] Since the company also has a manufacturing unit in

Chennai, the prices could be lower considering that it will be built there.

117

Figure A1 The including components in the boiler package from AE&E Group.

A 8.2 Turbine and generator

The turbine can be provided by Alstom, which is a global provider of power generation

technology. The price for a turbine (including a generator) depends on the type and size. For

this case, the cost will be about $13 million or Rs. 645 million.

A 8.3 Examples of other components involved in the steam power process

Besides the boiler package, turbine/generator and the flue gas treatment systems the plant

needs other components such as preheaters, condensate storage tank, accumulator, condenser,

118

piping, pumps etc. Because of the limited amount of water at the dumpsite, a cooling tower

will be used as a cooling devise. No price estimations have been made for these components.

In scenarios 1 and 2 the components used in the steam cycle will differ. The main differences

in the two scenarios are the turbine type, the piping system and the extra components needed

for energy transfer in the industry. The differences in the two scenarios are illustrated in

figures A2 and A3.

Figure A2 The steam process of scenario 1.

Figure A3 The steam process of scenario 2.

Steam boiler

Backpressure

turbine

Industry

Condenser

Feed water pump

Generator

Some of the steam will be tapped off

the turbine and sent to an industry.

Therefore a backpressure turbine is

used. The rest of the steam will be

used for electricity production and

will therefore follow the same route

as for scenario 1.

Steam pipes will be used to deliver

the process steam to the industry,

and water pipes in which the

condensate returns to the plant.

The industry will have a steam

generator and a heat exchanger. The

condensate that returns from the

industry to the plant will have a

relatively high temperature.

Therefore it will go directly to the

feed water tank.

Condensing

turbine

Steam boiler

Condenser Feed water pump

Generator There will only be electricity

production. Hence, there will be a

condensing turbine.

119

Appendix 9 Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)

A 9.1 What is CDM?

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol and

the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). CDM allows

developed nations to reduce greenhouse gases in developing countries to be able to achieve

their emission reduction targets. The countries recited in Annex 1 of the Kyoto protocol, EU,

Australia and New Zeeland, have individual commitments to reduce or limit their greenhouse

gas emissions [91]. Parts of those emission reductions can be obtained in developing

countries, non-Annex 1 countries, where the emission reduction cost is lower. The emission

reductions can be achieved by making the energy production more efficient or by exchange

the electricity produced from fossil fuel to electricity produced from biofuel. The CDM

projects are a way for the Annex 1 countries to compliment the national commitments under

the Kyoto protocol, i.e. the CDM projects shall not be more significant than the arrangements

in the home country. The host country’s government has to approve the proposed CDM

project and evaluate whether the project leads to sustainable development. [92]

CDM does not only contribute to a more cost efficient emission reduction for the developed

country, it also assists the developing country to achieve sustainable development. The CDM

projects provide the developing country with new technology and contribute thereby to a

modernization of the industrial sector and the energy production sector. [92]

A 9.2 Supervisory bodies

The CDM Executive Board (EB) is the international agency to monitor the CDM projects.

They approve the methodologies, register and monitor the CDM projects and issue carbon

credits, CERs. Countries with commitments under the Kyoto protocol must have a responsible

authority, Designated National Authority (DNA), to approve and authorize the CDM project.

Developing countries who want to be a host country for CDM projects must as well have a

DNA to monitor the projects. A third part agency, Designated Operational Entity (DOE),

validate the CDM project before it gets registered at the CDM Executive Board, to ensure the

project results in long term and real emission reductions. [92]

A 9.3 Requirements to become a CDM project

The CDM project has to be approved by the host country which is the developing country

where the project is going to be set up and by the CDM Executive Board. To get approval

from the CDM Executive Board some criteria have to be fulfilled [148]:

Additionality: The first requirement for being considered as a CDM project is additionality.

There are two interpretations of additionality. The first refers to the emission reductions that

will not occur in absence of the project, environmental additionality, i.e. the emissions from

the project have to be lower than the baseline. The second interpretation, project additionality,

means that the project would not be realized without CDM due to financial deficit without the

income from carbon credits. At present the second interpretation is used by the CDM

Executive Board when evaluating a project proposal.

120

Contribute to sustainable development: The function of CDM is not only to reduce

greenhouse gas emissions; it must also contribute to sustainable development in the host

country.

An upcoming project: The project must be identified as an Upcoming Construction or Ready

for Construction. The project cannot be in operation already. This would contradict the

additionality criterion.

Eligibility of the project owner: The CDM project owner can be a country with commitments

under the Kyoto protocol or an industry with emission limits within an Annex 1 country. The

project owner has to be approved by the host country’s DNA. The eligibility of the project

owners is decided by the DNA and varies between countries. For example in some countries

the project owner has to be a national entity or a joint venture.

Eligibility of the host country: The host country must have ratified the Kyoto protocol and be

a non-Annex 1 country. An accrediting entity, a DNA, is as well required in the host country

to approve and monitor the projects and the project owners, and to confirm that the proposed

project will lead to sustainable development for the country.

Identification of a buyer: Before the project can become a CDM project the buyer of the

CERs must be identified.

A 9.4 Project cycle for CDM

It is important that the procedure to become a CDM project is not too bureaucratic. This could

result in default emission reductions or that the most effective option is rejected. However, if

projects that would have happened anyway are registered as CDM projects the net effect of

global greenhouse gas emissions will increase as there will be no change of emissions in the

developing country, but emissions in the home country can proceed corresponding to the

amount of CERs hold from the CDM project. The cycle to become a CDM project is

explained below and an overview is seen in figure A4 [114]:

The developing of the project: The project owner formulates an idea of the project, a Project

Idea Note (PIN), and presents it to the project developer. The idea is further developed by the

project developer to a project description, Project Development Document (PDD).

Validation of the PDD: The PDD is validated by an independent entity, Designated

Operational Entity (DOE), to make sure that the CDM project is in accordance with the

framework for CDM and that the estimated emission reductions are correct. The DOE has to

be accredited by the CDM Executive Board.

Registration of the project at the CDM Executive Board: The DOE present the PDD for the

CDM Executive Board with the validation report. Before the CDM Executive Board decides

whether the project is a CDM project or not, the PDD must be published for 30 days for

possible comments. If the project is approved PDD is registered as a CDM project at the

CDM Executive Board.

121

Verifying the CDM project’s emission reductions: CERs will not be issued until the

corresponding emission reductions are verified, to confirm that the emission reductions are

real. This is performed ones a year at the time of issuing and transfer of the CERs. The

verifying is performed by a DOE which cannot be the same one that did the validation. A

validation report is then sent to the CDM Executive Board.

Issuing and transferring of CERs to the buyer: Verified emission reductions are certified as

CERs and registered and are then issued to the buyer. The CDM Executive Board deducts a

part of the CERs generated by the CDM project before they are sold to the buyer. This is done

to cover for the adjustment costs for developing countries exposed for negative consequences

by the climate change. The project participants are bound to pay a fee to the CDM Executive

Board, based on issued CERs to cover the administrative costs. [92]

Figurekkk

Figure A4 The project cycle for CDM.

A 9.5 Certified Emission Reductions (CERs)

A successfully implemented CDM project generates carbon credits, Certified Emission

Reductions (CERs), to the project owner. Each CER is equivalent to one ton reduced carbon

dioxide and is issued in exchange for real emission reductions. These credits can be used by

the investor to manage the reduction target within the Kyoto protocol or be sold on the

International Emission Trading (IET) market to generate income. All CERs have individual

serial numbers guaranteeing that they cannot be sold twice. [92] The value of a CER is not

fixed, it varies with the market. The price for a CER was 11-12 EUR the first months in 2009.

[110]

Project Idea Note (PIN)

Project Screening

Project Design Document

Host Country Approval

Validation

Registration

Monitoring

Verification & Certification

Issue CERs

CDM Executive Board

(CDMEB)

Designated Operational

Entity (DOE)

Designated National

Authority (DNA)

122

A 9.6 Baseline estimation

To know if the CDM project is environmental additional, it is necessary to estimate the

project’s baseline. The baseline is the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per produced unit

energy, i.e. kg CO2/MWh. The project’s baseline is then compared to the baseline estimated

for the area where the project is going to be set up. If the electricity produced from the CDM

project replaces electricity from the national grid, the national baseline is used to calculate the

gained emission reductions. On the other hand, if the CDM project produced electricity is

replacing the regional grid the comparison then has to be made with the regional baseline. If

the CDM project totally replaces coal or oil, the CDM project’s emissions are compared to the

emissions from the corresponding fuel. [92]

A 9.7 Methodology

The proposed CDM project needs to use an approved methodology and be written in the form

prescribed by the UNFCCC. The CDM methodology describes the methodologies used for

determination of potential emission reductions achieved by the proposed CDM project.

Basically it describes the methodologies for baseline estimation, monitoring plans and project

boundaries. Since the projects vary a lot one specific methodology might not be suitable for

more than one project. But with validation of an approved methodology it could be possible to

approach the new methodology to an upcoming project. If no existing methodology is suitable

for a project the project developer can propose a new methodology. The new methodology

then first has to be approved by the CDM Executive Board. All the current methodologies are

possible to view at UNFCCC’s homepage. New methodologies are constantly approved by

the CDM Executive Board. [115]

A 9.8 CDM for a WTE project in India

Incineration of MSW demands a more advanced fluegas treatment then incineration of oil or

coal. MSW is a mixture of the society’s rest products and contains many different materials,

some of them with toxic components. In India the hazardous waste is not sorted out and

follows the MSW stream. Incineration of hazardous waste results in creation of dioxins. Many

other pollutants are formed while incinerating MSW. The nitrogen in meat products gives rise

to the formation of nitrogen hydroxides, and sulphur in plastics form sulphur dioxide. Both of

these harm the environment. The fluegas treatment of a WTE facility is approximately fifty

percent of the investment cost. To be able to build a WTE facility with good fluegas

treatment, CDM can be a way of financing the project. CDM will cover approximately ten

percent of the invested capital cost. CDM can never be the main financing but it gives an

incentive to invest in more environmentally-friendly technology.

At the moment India has 360 CDM projects registered at the CDM Executive Board and

1 426 at or after the validation stage. [116]

A 9.8.1 The Designated National Authority (DNA)

The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) is the accredited Designated National

Authority (DNA) in India. They have the power to invite specialists from different areas as

the government, industries, financial institutions, NGOs, commerce, consultants, civil society

and legal profession, as they need technical and professional input. [116]

123

A 9.8.2 Baseline

The national baseline in India is estimated from India’s energy mix. The corresponding

calculation for the state level is estimated from the energy mix in that specific region. In the

total baseline for an area import and export are included. The biggest energy source in India is

sub-bituminous coal which then also is the biggest contributor to the national baseline. [117]

[7] The estimation of the national and regional baselines is done by the Central Electricity

Authority (CEA). To estimate the baselines CEA uses the “Tool to calculating the emission

factors for an electricity system” developed by the CDM Executive Board. The baseline

database is annually updated as it changes when new projects are implemented. [117]

124

Appendix 10 Revenues from CDM in scenarios 1 and 2 If a project that will lower the net emissions of CO2 eq have problems getting founded, it is

possible to become a CDM project. By replacing fossil based energy production with energy

production from renewable sources carbon credits can be generated, i.e. the total amount of

CO2 eq with fossil origin that can be reduced gives the same amount of CERs. The CER can

be sold to market price to generate income to the project.

The CERs are issued annually and can be issued more than once for a specific project. The

project proponent can choose between two crediting periods:

1. a fixed crediting period of 10 years or

2. a renewable crediting period of 7 years renewed thrice (that is 7·3 = 21 years). [147]

In the second option the project proponent needs to justify baseline and calculate the CO2

emissions once every 7 years and then apply for renewal. Therefore, the most common is to

choose a straight 10 years period, which also is chosen for this case. A baseline for the

crediting period is then estimated based on the predicted future baseline. The baseline does

not change drastically and therefore it is possible to assume a realistic value. The Tamil Nadu

baseline has varied between 0.85 and 0.86 tons CO2/MWh since 2000 [139], and it is thereby

assumed that the baseline for the crediting period in this project will be 0.85 tons CO2/MWh.

According to IPCC Guidelines only the fossil carbon fraction should be taken into

consideration when calculating CO2 emissions from waste incineration. [113] As RDF is

derived from waste the same is considered in our case. The most significant greenhouse gas

emission from incineration of waste and coal is CO2. [113] In this study only a rough

estimation of CO2 eq will be made and therefore only CO2 emissions are taken into

consideration.

In the following section, the CO2 eq for the two scenarios are estimated and compared with

the present system to estimate how many CO2 eq that can be prevented. Thereafter the

potential revenues from CERs for both scenarios are estimated.

A 10.1 Prevented CO2 emissions for the two scenarios

In this section the prevented CO2 emissions for both scenarios are calculated.

A.10.1.1 Scenario 1

In scenario 1, only electricity is produced. The electricity produced replaces the electricity

from Tamil Nadu’s gridmix. By calculating the annual amount of emissions from the fuel, i.e.

the fraction of RDF with fossil origin, and compare this with the baseline for Tamil Nadu, the

net emission reduction can be estimated. The regional baseline for Tamil Nadu is 0.85 tons

CO2 eq/MWh. The annual CO2 emissions from scenario 1 are 5 324 tons/year. The

calculations are presented in box A1.

125

The net emission reduction of CO2 in scenario 1 are 66 076 tons/year. The calculations are

presented in box A2.

𝐶𝑂2𝑅𝐷𝐹= 𝑀𝑆𝑊 ∙ (𝐶𝐹 ∙ 𝐹𝐶𝐹 ∙ 𝑂𝐹) ∙

44

12𝑖

∙ 𝜂𝑏

Box A1 CO2 emissions from incineration of RDF

Fossil CO2 emissions from RDF based on IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas

Inventories [113]:

Where:

MSW Annual amount of RDF [tons/year]

CF Fraction of RDF that has fossil origin, (fraction of plastic) [%]

FCF Fossil carbon fraction in plastic [%]

OF Oxidation factor, (fraction) [%]

44/12 Molecular weight ratio [CO2/C]

ηb Boiler efficiency [%]

Assumptions:

MSW 116550 tons of RDF per year

CF 5 % [112]

FCF 48 %

OF 58 % (default) [113]

ηb 89.5 % [111]

Result:

The amount of CO2 emissions from incineration of RDF is 5 324 tons/year.

126

A 10.1.2 Scenario 2

In scenario 2, electricity and process steam are produced. The electricity produced replaces

the electricity from Tamil Nadu’s gridmix. By calculating the annual amount of emissions

from the fuel, i.e. the fraction of RDF with fossil origin and comparing it with the baseline for

Tamil Nadu, the net emission reduction can be estimated. The regional baseline for Tamil

Nadu is 0.85 tons CO2 eq/MWh. It is assumed that the industrial waste is free from fossil

carbon.

In scenario 2, the industry’s present steam production has to be considered. The industry

produces steam from sub-bituminous coal. If the industry buys process steam generated at the

RDF plant CO2 emissions can be prevented. The CO2 emissions prevented are the difference

between the CO2 emissions from sub-bituminous coal that the industry currently uses to

produce their process steam and the CO2 emissions from the fuel in the RDF plant to generate

the required steam. The CO2 emissions from sub-bituminous coal incinerated in the industry

is 37 251 tons/year. The calculations are presented in box A3.

𝐶𝑂2𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑚𝑖𝑥= 𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 ∙ 𝑕𝑜𝑝 ∙ 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑁𝑎𝑑𝑢

𝐶𝑂2𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑= 𝐶𝑂2𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑚𝑖𝑥

− 𝐶𝑂2𝑅𝐷𝐹

Box A2 The estimated net emission reduction from scenario 1

Emissions from electricity produced from Tamil Nadu’s gridmix:

Prevented CO2 – emissions from scenario 1:

Where:

Electric power The potential electric power [MW]

hop Operating hours for the plant [h]

baselineTamilNadu The baseline for Tamil Nadu, estimated from the gridmix

[tons of CO2/MWh]

CO2RDF The CO2 – emissions from scenario 1 [tons/year]

Assumptions:

Electric power 10.5 MW [box 14]

hop 8000 hours

baselineTamilNadu 0.85 tons of CO2/MWh [137]

CO2RDF 5324 tons/year [box A1]

Result:

If electricity is produced with Tamil Nadu’s gridmix, the CO2 emissions will be 71 400

tons/year. The prevented CO2 emissions in scenario 1 will be 66 076 tons/year.

127

𝑆𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 = 𝑕𝑏 − 𝑕𝑎 ∗ 𝑚

𝑆𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡 =𝑆𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟

𝜂𝑏

𝐶𝑜𝑎𝑙 =𝑆𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡 ∗ 𝑕𝑜𝑝

𝐿𝐻𝑉

𝐶𝑂2𝑠𝑢𝑏−𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑠= 𝐶𝑜𝑎𝑙 ∙ 𝐶𝐹 ∙

44

12∙ 𝜂𝑏

Box A3 CO2 emissions from the sub-bituminous coal incinerated in the industry

The annual amount of sub-bituminous coal for the steam production in the industry:

CO2 emissions from sub-bituminous coal in the industry:

Where:

Steam power The industry’s steam demand [MW]

Size of plant The needed size of the plant for the required steam [MW]

Coal Amount of sub-bituminous coal needed [tons/year]

𝑚 Mass flow [kg/s]

hb Enthalpy for steam before the industry [MJ/kg]

ha Enthalpy for condense after the industry [MJ/kg]

ηb Efficiency of coal boiler [%]

hop Operating hours

LHV Lower heating value for sub-bituminous coal [MWh/ton]

CF The carbon fraction in the sub-bituminous coal [%]

44/12 Molecular weight ratio CO2/C

The industry needs steam at 180 degrees Celsius and 10 bar. Considering losses in the

steam generator, the steam temperature drawn from the turbine has to be 190 degrees

Celsius and 12.6 bar.

Assumptions:

𝑚 6 kg/s

hb 2.778 MJ/kg

ha 0.808 MJ/kg

ηb 89 % [119]

hop 8 000

LHV 5.25 MWh/ton [72]

CF 40 % [72]

Result:

The amount of sub-bituminous coal needed for the industry’s steam production will be 20

240 tons/year. The CO2 emissions from sub-bituminous coal for steam production in the

industry will be 26 420 tons/year.

128

The net emission reduction of CO2 in scenario 2 is 87 007 tons/year. The calculations are

presented in box A4.

𝐶𝑂2𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑚𝑖𝑥= 𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 ∙ 𝑕𝑜𝑝 ∙ 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑁𝑎𝑑𝑢

𝐶𝑂2𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑= 𝐶𝑂2𝑠𝑢𝑏 −𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑠

+ 𝐶𝑂2𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑚𝑖𝑥 − 𝐶𝑂2𝑅𝐷𝐹

Box A4 The net emission reduction from scenario 2

Emissions from electricity produced from Tamil Nadu’s gridmix:

Prevented CO2 emissions in scenario 2:

Where:

Electric power The potential electric power calculated in Box X [MW]

hop Operating hours for the plant

baselineTamilNadu The baseline for Tamil Nadu, estimated from the gridmix

[tons of CO2/MWh]

CO2RDF The CO2 emissions from RDF [tons/year]

CO2sub −bituminous The CO2 emissions from sub-bituminous coal incinerated in the

industry [tons/year]

Assumptions:

Electric power 12.2 MW [box 15]

hop 8 000

baselineTamilNadu 0.85 tons of CO2/MWh [137]

CO2RDF 5 324 tons/year [box A1]

CO2sub −bituminous 26 420 tons/year [box A3]

Result:

The CO2 emissions from Tamil Nadu gridmix are 82 960 tons/year. The prevented CO2

emissions in scenario 2 will be 104 056 tons/year.

129

Appendix 11 MSW management in developed countries Many western companies within the waste sector are interested in expanding their business

and in setting up waste incineration plants in developing countries. Somehow, very few of

these companies experience that their projects are successful. A technology which is proven

successful in one country could be complicated to just apply on another country with different

waste characteristics, infrastructure and climate.

To better understand the differences between MSW management in developed and developing

countries and their different choice of technology, this chapter will give an overview of MSW

management in developed countries with focus on Sweden.

A 11.1 MSW management in Sweden

Sweden, which is seen in figure A5, is a small country in the north of Europe with about 9

million inhabitants. It has a temperate climate with cold winters and cool summers.

Residential heating is necessary during the winters while cooling during the summers is more

common in public buildings such as offices and other institutional buildings.

Figure A5 Map of Sweden

Around 20 years ago, the most common method in Sweden to treat waste was mechanical

segregation and processing of RDF. Along with improved waste management, increased

heating value and increased demand for energy the method of direct incineration became

more financially viable. Today the most common way to treat MSW in Sweden is direct

incineration of mixed MSW. [124]

Waste incineration in Sweden is always combined with energy recovery. The largest part of

the energy recovered is heat, which is used as district heating. Electricity generation is

sometimes combined with production of heat, which is delivered to the grid. During the last

years, production of cold has become more common in Sweden, which is used as district

cooling in public buildings. Many incineration plants also deliver process steam directly from

the plant to industries.

A 11.1.1 MSW treatments

The total amount of MSW treated in Sweden in 2007 was 4 717 380 tons, which is about 514

kg per person. Figure A6 illustrates that the largest parts of the MSW treated in Sweden was

130

recycled and incinerated with energy recovery. Only 4.0 percent of the MSW was sent to

sanitary landfills. [23]

Figure A6 MSW treatments in Sweden in 2007. [23]

A 11.1.2 Hazardous waste treatment

An important factor in the MSW management strategy in Sweden is to sort out the hazardous

waste from the MSW generated. 40 880 tons of hazardous waste was collected from the

households in 2007. Even though the hazardous waste stands for less than 1 percent of waste

generated, it contributes to more that 90 percent of the environmental stress from MSW. [124]

The hazardous waste is treated differently depending on the possible damage they can cause.

Impregnated tree and biomedical waste are often burned together with MSW in incineration

plants with certain permission. Material recycling and separation processes of hazardous

components are used for batteries, fluorescent lamps, paint bottles and oil filter. The

Electronic waste (E-waste) is firstly dismantled and thereafter the different components are

recycled, treated or incinerated. It occurs that the E-waste is donated to developing countries,

where the possibilities of taking care of the waste properly are limited. The hazardous

components that cannot be recycled or rendered harmless are put on sanitary landfills. [23]

A 11.1.3 Material recycling and biological processing

The government of Sweden has set up a goal that at least 50 percent of the MSW generated

should be recycled through material recycling or biological processing, by the year 2010.

During 2007 this amount was 2 299 020, which was 48.7 percent of the total amount of MSW

generated. [23]

131

A 11.1.3.1 Material recycling

The amount of material recycled in Sweden in 2007 was 1 737 720 tons. Segregation of

paper, metal, plastic, glass and E-waste is done in the households using different bins for each

fraction. Figure A7 shows the recycling degree of specific materials. [23]

I

Figure A7 Recycling degree of specific materials in Sweden in 2007. [23]

A 11.1.3.2 Biological processing

The total amount of organic waste (food waste and green waste) that was biologically

processed in 2007 was 561 300 tons. [23]

228 8110 MWh of biogas was produced in biomethanation plants throughout Sweden in 2007,

which is equal to 26 million litres of petrol. Today the biogas is mostly used as automotive

fuel. [23]

During 2007, 336 100 tons of fertilizer was produced in compost plants in Sweden. The

produced compost was primarily used as soil conditioner. [23]

A 11.1.4 Incineration with energy recovery

The principal method for treating waste in Sweden is mass burning of mixed MSW in a

moving grate or in a fluidized bed (the technology is described in chapter 7 and appendix 12).

There are about 30 incineration plants in Sweden, of which most are moving grates. [23]

The share of the MSW generated in 2007, that was incinerated with energy recovery, was

46.4 percent. In Sweden it is common to incinerate other types of waste together with MSW

in the same plant, mostly industrial waste but also bio-medical and other less harmful

hazardous waste types. [23]

The total amount of electricity and heat generated in 2007 was 13.6 TWh, of which 90 percent

was heat and 10 percent electricity. [23] About 60 percent of the incineration plants do not

132

have electricity production at all. Table A10 specifies the amount of waste incinerated in

Sweden in 2007 and the electricity and heat recovered.

Table A10 The amount of waste incinerated and the energy recovered in Sweden in 2007. [23]

Incineration [tons] Production [MWh]

MSW 2 190 980 Heat 12 151 270

Other waste 2 279 710 Electricity 1 482 750

Total amount of waste incinerated 4 470 690 Total energy production 13 634 020

A 11.1.4.1 Emissions from waste incineration

Since the middle of 1980s there have been strict emission standards in Sweden for how much

emission that is allowed from an incineration plant. This has resulted in improved flue gas

treatment and better sorting out of hazardous waste from the MSW. Most of the emissions

have been reduced by 90-99 percent during the last decades. Table A11 illustrates the

emissions from waste incineration during 2007.

Table A11 Emissions to air from waste incineration in Sweden in 2007. [23]

Substance Value Unit

Particles 5 g/ton

HCl 13 g/ton

SOx 44 g/ton

NOx 470 g/ton

Hg 8 mg/ton

Cd+Tl 1 mg/ton

Pb 11 mg/ton

Dioxines 0.1 µg/ton

Figure A8 shows the reduced dioxin emissions from waste incineration over time in Sweden.

Between the years 1985 and 2002 the emissions have decreased with 99.4 percent.

F

Figure A8 Dioxin emissions from waste incineration in Sweden 1985-2002. [40]

133

A 11.1.5 Landfilling

186 490 tons of MSW was landfilled during 2007. On 60 sites out of the total of 140 active

landfill sites throughout the country, there was extraction of landfill gas. The energy

generated from the gas was 290 100 GWh, of which 92 percent was heat and 8 percent

electricity. [23]

A 11.1.6 Gasification/pyrolysis

Today there are no large scale plants in Sweden for treating MSW through gasification or

pyrolysis. However, the company Mälarenergy plans to build a 200 MW gasifier in Västerås

for treating MSW and industrial waste. The plant is going to treat waste with low moisture

content in a Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB). [41]

A 11.2 Swedish waste characteristics

The composition of MSW in Sweden is given in figure A9. It is based on analysis of the

MSW from 7 different municipalities in Sweden. [125]

Figure A9 The composition of MSW in Sweden.

A 11.2.1 Heating value

The lower heating value of the waste that is incinerated in the incineration plants in Sweden is

no less than 3 MWh/ton (2580 kcal/kg). [124] Before the MSW is fed into the incineration

plant it is often mixed with industrial waste to increase the heating value. In box A5 the waste

fed into the fluidized bed plant in Norrköping is described. [126]

134

Box A6 explains the type of waste and the heating value of the waste fed into the moving

grate plant in Uppsala.

Box A6 AFA Block 5 in Uppsala [127]

Figure A11 AFA Block 5 in Uppsala. [159]

Box A5 Händelöverket in Norrköping [126]

Figure A10 Händelöverket in Norrköping. [158]

Picture source:

135

A 11.3 Mass burning vs. combustion of RDF

The conclusion of chapter 7.1.1 was that there should be combustion of RDF and not mass

burning of MSW in India. The choice for Sweden is the opposite. Box A7 discusses why mass

burning of waste is a good choice in a developed country like Sweden.

Box A7 Should there be mass burning of MSW or only combustion of the burnable

fraction of the MSW (RDF) in Sweden?

Incineration of MSW is widely accepted in Sweden. Because of the advanced flue gas

treatment, people are generally not afraid of toxic compounds from the plant. Proposals of

building new plants are most often welcomed by the public.

The segregation of different fractions of MSW takes place in the households. The fractions

which are segregated are recyclables, organic and hazardous waste. This minimizes the

moisture and toxic compounds of the MSW going to the incineration plant, which makes it

more suitable for incineration.

Since the MSW in Sweden and other high income countries have a lower heating value

close to 3 MWh/ton (2580 kcal/kg) it is neither necessary to pre treat the MSW before

combustion, nor is it critical to add auxiliary fuel to sustain the combustion. However, if

suitable fuel is available it could be mixed with MSW to increase the energy content of the

fuel mix. Sweden has a large forest industry that produces waste with a high heating value,

commonly used for co-incineration with MSW.

The Swedish waste incineration companies receive a tipping fee for each kilogram of

MSW that is tipped at the plant. Mass burning of waste in Sweden is always combined

with energy recovery. Because of the cold climate, most of the energy produced is district

heating. Nearly half of the incineration plants in the country also have electricity

production. Furthermore, many incineration plants have started to produce process steam

and district cooling, due to an increased demand during the past years.

Mass burning of MSW

136

Figure A12 Moving grate. [162]

Moving grate

Figure A13 Coal boiler. [163]

Appendix 12 Technologies for treating MSW This section will describe alternative technologies for waste incineration, other than fluidized

bed technology. It will also cover the most common flue gas treatment systems. Moreover, the

components in the steam process will be described.

A 12.1 Combustion technologies

The main combustion technologies for MSW are fluidized bed and moving grate. The

fluidized bed technology is described in section 7.1.5.1. Both of the techniques require that

the heating value of the waste is at least 3 MWh/ton (2580 kcal/kg) (LHV). The combustion

processes generate bottom ash and fly ash. The fly ash is very toxic and needs to be treated or

landfilled. The bottom ash, which is less toxic can be recycled and used for road material. The

products that could be generated from these plants are electricity that can be sold to the grid,

process steam that could be used by a nearby industry and district heating and/or cooling that

could be delivered to close residential or industrial areas.

A 12.1.1 Moving grate

The majority of the incinerators operating in Europe

are moving grates. They are designed to handle large

volumes of MSW with no pre-treatment. A typical

grate has two to three combustion units, which range

from 100 tpd to 3000 tpd. A crane is used to feed the

waste into the grate, which consists of fixed and

movable grate bars that constantly push the waste

forward. Before the waste reaches the combustion

zone it is dried, by re-using the warm flue gases from

the combustion process. The waste is constantly fed

at one end and the bottom ash is discharged in the

other, as seen in figure A12. [30] The temperature in

the grate is about 1000 degrees Celsius. [100]

A 12.1.3 Coal boiler

RDF can be mixed with coal and incinerated with energy

recovery. It is a proven technology worldwide with both

financial and environmental benefits compared to coal-

firing. The main advantage is that the existing coal fired

boiler can be used and the expenses of building a new

plant can be avoided. Since the sulphur content and the

level of heavy metals is lower in RDF, the environmental

benefits of co-firing compared to burning only coal is

significant. The main disadvantages are that the coal boiler

must be modified and that there could be difficulties

handling RDF compared to coal. [96] Figure A13 shows a

coil boiler.

137

A 12.1.4 Gasifiers

Gasification of MSW or RDF can be done in a fixed bed or in a fluidized bed. The choice of

technology depends on the size of the plant. For application larger than 12 MW, a fluidized

bed is the best solution. BFB is suitable for smaller applications of 1-50 MW plants while

CFB is better for larger applications of 10-200 MW. [97] An existing fluidized bed for

combustion could be reconstructed for gasification. [141]

Gasification works best when the MSW is carbon-rich and the non-combustible fraction is

sorted out, which is why RDF is suitable for gasification. The process is pressurized and the

temperature is usually above 750 degrees Celsius. Gasification has several advantages over

traditional combustion. First of all it takes place in an oxygen poor environment which

decreases the formation of dioxins, SOx and NOx. The lower volume of oxygen added also

results in a lower volume of syngas generated. Hence, smaller and less expensive gas cleaning

is required compared to the flue gas treatment from the combustion process. However, during

the gasification, tars, heavy metals and alkaline compounds are released which can cause

environmental and operational problems in the boiler and gas turbine. Before gasification can

be a solution for future energy production from MSW or RDF these problems need to be

solved. [97] A fluidized bed can be used for gasification as well as for combustion. If

gasification turns out to be more viable in the future, an existing fluidized bed boiler for

combustion could be reconstructed for gasification. [141] The strength and weaknesses using

gasification over combustion is summarized in box A8. [30]

A 12.2 Flue gas treatment

There are many different types of pollutants in the flue gases. There are those that depend on

the waste composition, such as dust, metals and acid gases and there are those that depend on

incineration conditions, for example NOx [98]. These substances are hazardous for human

health and/or the environment and need to be removed before released to the atmosphere, in

order to meet the regulatory standards. The pollutants may differ in size, inertia, electrical and

absorption properties compared to the carrying stream. The removal device must therefore be

scientifically properly designed to be able to perform the separation. Hence, different

equipment is needed to get an effective removal or of the varying pollutants. [17] The

Box A8 Gasification and pyrolysis vs combustion

+ Syngas can generate electricity more efficiently via gas turbine, whereas steam

from combustion processes generates electricity less efficiently in steam turbines

Fewer air emissions are produced by using less oxygen

Other products except energy can be generated through gasification and pyrolysis,

such as oils and chemicals

Gas can easily and environmentally friendly be transported in pipes

Cheaper gas cleaning system is required

- Require pre-treatment of waste

Uncertainties of financial and technical viability

Problems due to release of tars, heavy metals and alkaline compounds

138

following section will give an overview of the technical equipment used to remove the

pollutants.

A 12.2.1 Removal of dust pollutants

Dust in the flue gas is correlated to the ash content of the waste as

well as the burnout of the fuel. The burnout depends on the

optimization of the incineration. The different technologies to

eliminate dust are presented below.

A 12.2.1.1 Cyclone

The cyclone separates bigger particles through the gravitation

force occurring while the flue gas is forced into circulation,

shown in figure A14. The particles are hurled to the cyclone walls

and fall down to the bottom of the cyclone where they are

discharged. [17] The flue gas leaves the cyclone in the outlet in

the top. The elimination is 90 percent for particles over 5 µm but

extensively lower for smaller particles. [99]

A 12.2.1.2 Electrostatic filter

In the electrostatic filter also called

electrostatic precipitator, the particles get

charged by emission electrodes when the

flue gas enters the device. The charged

particles then get attached to metal plates

with the opposite charge. By knocking on

the plates, the particles fall down and are

discharged from the hoppers. The principle

is seen in figure A15. The main advantage

with an electrostatic precipitator is that the

separation rate is very high, over 99.5

percent. The negative aspect is that the

device is sensitive to operational changes, space demanding and expensive compared to other

treatment methods. [100]

A 12.2.1.3 Fabric filter

The principle for a fabric filter also called bag filter,

is comparable with a vacuum cleaner. The flue gas

passes through heat-resistant textile socks or

cylindrical bags, which prevent the particles to pass,

see figure A16. The dust cakes formed on the fabric

filter is removed by shaking or blowing. The

separation rate is high, 99.95 percent [100] even for

small particles. The high temperature of the flue gas

involves a risk for fire. The bag filter is therefore put

in the end of the flue gas treatment where the

temperatures are lower. Another problem is

condensation of the flue gas which can cause

corrosion or clogging. [101]

Figure A14 Cyclone.

[164]

Figure A15 Electrostatic filter. [162]

Figure A16 Fabric filter. [165]

139

Figure A17 Wet scrubber. [166]

A 12.2.2 Reduction of acid gases

Acid gases, e.g. hydrogen chloride (HCL), hydrogen fluoride (HF) and sulphur oxides (SOx),

are generally reduced with alkaline reagents. Three different cleaning processes are applied;

dry, semi-wet and wet process which are described below.

These methods reduce the acid gases by adding a chemical or a physical sorption agent that

absorb the pollutants, dissolve them or turn them into dry salts which are separated from the

flue gas in a later stage. [102] All the three methods mentioned above efficiently remove

mercury and dioxins. [103]

A 12.2.2.1 Dry process

The sorption agent in the dry process is lime or sodium bicarbonate, which is fed into the

furnace in the form of a dry powder. The reaction products are solid, which are removed from

the flue gas in the fabric filter. [102] The reduction efficiency is no more than 50 percent for a

grate but significantly higher for a fluidized bed, 70 to 90 percent, due to the possibility to

mix the absorbent with the inert bed material. The investment cost is low but the process

consumes a lot of chemicals. [98]

A 12.2.2.2 Wet process

In the wet process illustrated in figure A17, water or

neutralization liquid is sprayed over the flue gas. The

acid pollutants condense and get mixed with the

sprayed liquid. This is normally performed in one or

more scrubbers. It is common to have one acetic acid

scrubber where dust, HCl, HF, metals and dioxins are

removed and one neutral scrubber where lime is added

to remove SO2. This method generates waste water

which is highly polluted and has to go through a special

treatment to remove metals and get neutralized. [102]

[103]

A 12.2.2.3 Semi-wet process

The semi-wet process is an alternative to the wet process in order to get a more efficient

removal of SO2. At the same time HF, HCl and SO3 are removed as well as metals like

mercury, lead, cadmium, copper, and zinc. [100] The sorption agent, which in this case is lime

water, is mixed with water to slurry which is sprayed on the flue gases. The heat of the flue

gas makes the solvent evaporate and the reaction product becomes solid and could be

removed in a dust separator. [102] The removal efficiency is 70 - 90 percent. [98]

A 12.2.2.4Wastewater treatment

The wet flue gas treatment generates polluted wastewater and treatment of this water is

necessary. This is done similar to the treatment of municipality wastewater and the process is

very efficient. Most of the pollutants get removed or dissolved. The wastewater treatment

includes neutralization, precipitation, flocculation, sedimentation, ammonia cupellation, sand

140

filter and carbon filter. The cleaned water passes through a final control before it can be let

out in the nearby sea or river. The process creates sludge that needs to be treated. [104]

A 12.2.3 Removal of nitrogen oxides

The formation of NOx depends mainly on the combustion temperature. By optimizing the

incineration, the technical system and the operation of the plant the NOx formation could be

reduced. The technical removal of NOx can be obtained through selective non-catalytic

reduction (SNCR) or selective catalytic reduction (SCR ). [103]

A 12.2.3.1 SNCR

The SNCR reduces NOx without catalyst through injection of ammonia and urea in the

furnace. The injection takes place in the upper part of the furnace where the temperature is

high, 900-1050 degrees Celsius, as the reduction increases with the temperature. SNCR has

lower investment and operational costs than SCR, but the reduction of NOx is also lower (40-

60%). Furthermore, the flue gases from waste incineration contain many different pollutants

which can destroy the catalyst which further speaks for SNCR. [142]

A 12.2.3.2 SCR

The SCR takes place after the furnace and reduces the NOx concentration with 70-90 percent.

The NOx catalyst is placed in the end of the flue gas treatment to avoid other pollutants that

could put strain on the material. Before the catalyst, ammonia is added to the flue gases. The

desired temperature in the catalyst is 300-400 degree Celsius which often requires reheating

of the flue gases. The main advantage with SCR is the high reduction rate. The negative

aspect is the high capital costs as well as its sensitivity to other pollutants that could destroy

the catalyst. [142]

A 12.2.4 Removal of dioxins

Reduction of the formation of dioxins can be made through optimization of the operation of

the incineration plant. High incineration temperature (above 800 degrees Celsius), turbulence

and long incineration time are factors that prevent the formation of these pollutants. [17]

Removal of dioxins can be done through different techniques which are described below.

Once the dioxins have been removed they need to be disposed in a safe final disposal, due to

its toxicity.

A 12.2.4.1 Active carbon

Active carbon is normally injected before the fabric filter. The dioxins get absorbed by the

active carbon and are separated from the flue gas in the fabric filter. [106] This method has a

relatively high operating cost. [105] Nevertheless, this is the most common method for dioxin

reduction.

A 12.2.4.2 SCR and additives

SCR, sulphur and urea reduce dioxins, though they are primarily used for other purposes.

SCR is used to reduce NOx, while sulphur prevents corrosion on heat transferring surfaces and

141

urea is injected to prevent NOx formation. These methods give therefore a cost efficient

reduction of dioxins. [105]

A 12.3 The steam power process

The process in an incineration plant is a steam power process, which means that electricity is

produced from steam and that the working medium appears in both liquid and steam phase.

There are many components involved in a steam power process. This section will describe the

steam cycle and the different components included in the process.

A 12.3.1 The Rankine Cycle

The steam power process in an incineration plant is a Rankine process. In the Rankine cycle

the working medium appears in both liquid- and steam phase. This is to prefer, as the process

then can be pressurized on the liquid side which increases the efficiency. [149]

The cycle consists of four processes which take place in four different components in a closed

system. The four components are: feed water pump, steam boiler, turbine and condenser, all

of which can be seen in figure A18. The feed water pump increases the pressure of the

working medium which is water, called feed water. In the steam boiler the water in the tubes

is heated and then vaporized into steam. The steam goes through a turbine where it expands to

a lower pressure and temperature, as work is extracted. In the condenser the steam condenses

into water when heat is transferred to a cooling medium. From this stage, the condense water

goes back to the feed water pump again and the Rankine cycle is completed.

For the purpose of estimating the electric and thermal power of a steam power plant, a

temperature – entropy diagram, T-s diagram, can be used. By knowing the pressure and

temperature at stage a, b, c and d in figure A18 it is possible, through a T-s diagram, to find

out the enthalpy in the working medium at these specific stages. [167] [168]

Figure A18 The Rankine cycle and T-s diagram.

Turbine

Feed water pump

Steam boiler

Condenser

142

A 12.3.2 The components in the steam cycle

The principal components in the Rankine cycle, pump, boiler and turbine, are described

below, together with other components that often are involved in a steam cycle.

A 12.3.2.1 Feed water pump

After the condenser, the feed water returns to the boiler again. However, since it has a low

pressure, it cannot be fed into the boiler. There has to be a pressure difference before and after

the boiler in order to get the water to flow, where the pressure before the boiler has to be

higher. Therefore one or two pumps are used to increase the pressure. [149]

A 12.3.2.2 Steam boiler

There are two types of boilers, steam boiler and hot water boiler. A hot water boiler is less

expensive but can only produce hot water. A steam boiler can produce electricity, process

steam, heat and cold, depending on the demand in the area.

In the steam boiler there are several tubes through which the feed water runs. As the

temperature increases the water gets vaporized into steam, which is tapped off in the steam

dome situated on top of the boiler.

A 12.3.2.3 Steam turbine

The principal use of a turbine is to convert the energy in the hot steam into a rotary motion. A

generator is attached to the turbine which generates electricity. There are two main types of

turbines, condensing turbine and back pressure turbine.

Inside a condensing turbine, the steam expands below the atmospheric pressure. After the

turbine the pressure of the steam is so low that it cannot be used for industrial applications.

The backpressure turbines allow the possibility to tap off part of the steam, before it has fully

expanded in the turbine. Hence, this way the high pressurized steam could be used for

industrial processes such as drying and heating. [115]

An incineration plant could use one or more turbines, and with more turbines it is possible to

extract more electricity. For smaller plants it is common to use only one turbine, because it is

not financially viable with more. [151]

A 12.3.2.4 Condenser

A condenser is put after the turbine to condense the steam into water before the boiler and to

maintain a low pressure after the turbine. The lower the pressure and temperature is in the

condenser, the higher is the potential electricity generation.

If the power plant would be situated close to the ocean, sea water could be used as cooling

medium in the condenser. Nevertheless, if water is scarce, which often is the case in

developing countries, a cooling tower could be used.

A cooling tower is a heat exchanger that removes the heat from water and transfers it to air.

The process is illustrated in figure A19. [169] As the hot water falls through the cooling tower

some of it evaporates, which cools the remaining water. The cooled water is collected at the

143

bottom of the cooling tower and returned to the plant. The process water is cooled to near the

dew point.

Figure A19 The process of cooling in a cooling tower.

A 12.3.2.5 Other components

The steam process described above is a simplification of the real process, which often

contains several more components. Below are some of the most important components

described.

Condensate storage tank: When the steam has expanded in the turbine and condensed to

water in a condenser, the water is collected in a condense tank. If the plant produces more

products than electricity, such as process steam, district heating and cooling the plant could

have more than one condensate storage tank, if there are great variations of the characteristics

of the condensate. In the tanks, hot steam is fed from below to remove oxygen from the

water. [150]

Feed water tank: The feed water tank is placed after the condense tank and before the boiler.

Here, more oxygen is removed in the same way as for the condense tanks. [150]

Economizer: The principal use of an economizer is to heat the feed water. In the economizer

the hot flue gases give their energy to the feed water, which runs in pipes inside the devise.

Another use for this energy is for district heating/cooling purposes. The process of taking

care of the energy in the flue gases, which otherwise would be lost, “economizes” or saves

energy. [149]

Preheaters: If the feed water has a high temperature when it is fed into the plant, the

efficiency of the process increases. The steam generated in the process could be tapped off at

different points in the steam process cycle and be used to pre-heat the feed water in so called

preheaters. An incineration plant could have one or more preheaters. [149]

Superheaters: Superheaters are used after the boiler to convert saturated steam into dry steam,

so that it can be fed into the turbine for electricity generation. One or more superheaters can

be used. [149]

144

Fuel bunker and feeding system: When the fuel arrives to the plant it needs to have a bunker

for storage. Furthermore, a feeding system for the fuel into the plant is required.

Accumulator tank: An accumulator tank is an energy storage device, which is required if there

are large fluctuations in the requirements for steam. The main reason for using an accumulator

is to make the system respond more quickly to temporary demand. [145]

145

Appendix 13 Dioxins The term dioxin is used to refer to 2,3,7,8–tetrachlorodibenzo para dioxin (TCDD), the most

toxic compound in the group dioxins. Dioxins is the collective name for chemical compounds

with several toxic responses similar to TCDD, namely polychlorinated dibenzo para dioxins

(PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and some polychlorinated biphenyls

(PCBs) that are dioxin-like. Totally there are 419 types of dioxin-related compounds but only

30 of these have significant toxicity. [7]

Dioxins are formed when organic and chlorinated material is burned together. [80] PCDD/Fs

are not produced intentionally but are formed in some industrial processes, while incinerating

coal, oil, wood or MSW and through some natural processes such as forest fires. PCBs,

however, are manufactured on purpose but are banned in many countries today. Dioxins are

persistent pollutants and will therefore remain in the environment for a long time after the

actual emission. [7]

Dioxins are toxic to human and wildlife. They are lipophilic, which means that they are

soluble in fats, oils and lipids and can therefore bio-accumulate in fatty tissues in humans and

wildlife. The toxicity of dioxins is often measured in Toxic Equivalents (TEQs). [80]

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